Neil and his friend Rex recently got laid off from their construction job. Mr. Olsen’s decision to fire them is a harsh blow because he’d seemed so understanding of their financial troubles only weeks earlier. While drowning their sorrows in alcohol, Rex suggests that they kidnap Mr. Olsen’s young son and use the ransom money to start new lives abroad. This idea is especially appealing to Neil, who wants to reconcile with his ex-wife, Meredith. Their marriage crumbled after the sudden death of their infant, and a change of scenery could be just what he needs to get her back. Neil and Rex snatch Taylor Olsen from a church and take him to Rex’s house. Next, the amateur criminals make contact with the Olsens and demand that they drop off one hundred thousand dollars at a deserted shopping mall in exchange for the boy. Neil and Rex leave to buy snacks. When they return, they find that Taylor has died. Evidently, the bound and gagged boy choked on his own vomit. Rex brushes it off—they’ll dump the body, get the money, and escape before the Olsens know the truth. Neil, still tortured by memories of his own loss, is shaken. Extortion was one thing, but now blood is on his hands. Rex drives to the mall to pick up the money, leaving Neil to do the dirty work. Neil tenderly wraps the child in sheets and drives to the Platte River. After a long time with no word from Rex, he calls Mr. Olsen and confesses to the crime. As the distraught man wails on the phone line, Neil picks up the body and walks into the river. He recalls a television clip of paper boats he saw while Meredith was pregnant. At the time, he’d hoped to sail them with his own son one day. Now, he’s floating downstream with a different child in his arms.