Traver, a Black man who recently escaped from prison, flees to an abandoned island on the coast of South Carolina. Having grown up on the island, Traver knows it well and is confident that he can survive there, eluding any search party that may come looking for him. When he discovers that a hunter is on the island, however, Traver's confidence fades. He realizes that, being an escaped convict as well as a Black man, the hunter would not hesitate to shoot him. Traver also theorizes that the hunter may be a poacher not wanting to attract law enforcement to the island, and would thus be inclined to take matters into his own hands. For several days, Traver flees from the hunter while simultaneously keeping an eye on him. He knows that the hunter is actively pursuing him, so the fugitive does his best to feed himself while avoiding the gun of the hunter. One morning, Traver steals bread out of the hunter's cabin. He also fashions a rabbit club out of a stick and hunts for food with it himself. As the days pass, Traver's fear builds. Every sound of the swampy island makes him jump. After a close call, Traver realizes that the hunter isn't going to give up until he's dead, so he tries to convince himself to start hunting the hunter. One morning, Traver hides near the trees while the hunter approaches, waiting to ambush him. A wild pig, however, alerts the hunter that Traver is nearby. Traver throws a stick into the underbrush to distract the hunter. He then throws his club, hitting the man in the head. The man collapses. Traver approaches and the man seems dead. He chastises the hunter for falling for an old trick and presses his knife to his throat, but he cannot bring himself to push the knife any deeper, since he still doesn't feel completely comfortable with killing. As he starts to leave the body behind, the hunter gets up, grabs his gun, and shoots Traver in the back, killing him.