Steven is an unhappily married gardener in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He works at a tree farm and carves wooden replicas of his beloved dog Erick in his free time. His wife, Deborah, has lost her job and spends most of her time watching TV and chastising Erick. One day, Erick returns to the house, having fetched a severed human foot. Afraid that Deborah will see, Steven hides the foot in the woodstove, then follows Erick to an unmarked grave that has recently been dug up. This confirms for Steven that the foot belongs to Willie Koonz, Steven's recently deceased supervisor. One year earlier, Steven discovers that Willie is sleeping with Deborah during his lunch breaks. Steven sets up trail cameras along both properties, which confirms his suspicions. Meanwhile, Steven learns that Deborah's father Joe, a retired coal miner, has developed black lung disease and doesn't have much longer to live. Deborah has a rocky relationship with Joe, so Steven takes on the caretaker role, instead. Realizing that they will inherit a decent amount of money after Joe dies, Steven fears the possibility that Deborah will divorce him and run away with Willie. He decides to prevent this by sabotaging her affair. Steven tells Willie that Deborah is pregnant, and he tells Deborah that Willie is planning on running off with another woman. The next day, Willie fails to show up to work. Steven reviews his trail cameras and sees Deborah pushing a wheelbarrow full of Willie's severed body parts. Steven learns that Willie left a note stating he was leaving his family, and everyone seems to believe that he just left town. Three weeks after Erick discovers Willie's severed foot, Deborah tells Steven she wants to leave him. Steven shows her the footage from the hiking cams, which prompts her to confess that she murdered Willie and wrote the note. She still wants to leave Steven, but Steven threatens to release the video evidence unless she waits until after Joe dies, insuring their mutual inheritance. Deborah proposes that they orchestrate an accident for Joe, to speed up his death and their windfall. Steven agrees, both fearful of and impressed by his wife's dark ambitions.