A 19th-century English missionary named Nathanial is tasked with building a church in a West African village. He’s in awe of the strange new land, especially the nearby waterfalls. Initially, he thought God was absent from the land and its people. Still, after seeing the natural beauty, he questions his assumptions.

Not long after his arrival, the hyena men show up. They have wild hyenas chained to their bodies and are terrifying. Nathanial worries that his message isn’t getting through to the natives. He pities them because they have more immediate needs, like hunger and sickness. Solomon teaches Nathanial about the land and the beliefs of his people, while Nathanial teaches him about the Bible and how to dress like a proper Englishman. David, one of Nathanial’s men, tries to rape a local girl, but Nathanial intervenes before the villagers kill him. The hyena men return, and Solomon explains that they’re debt collectors. Most of the villagers fear them, but Solomon seems to pity them. Shortly after, David turns up dead.

A caravan of enslaved people shows up in chains. Nathanial is horrified by the sight and begins to wonder if the village sees him as they see the slavers. He falls ill soon after. Solomon brings him food and explains that no slavers came to the town last week, but a hyena man was mauled by his hyena. Nathanial thinks the boy must have blocked the memory.

After several months, Nathanial recovers but thinks there’s a foul smell coming from him. He secludes himself from the villagers. A slaver named John arrives to talk with the village elders. When they refuse his offer, John deposits a basket full of severed hands in the middle of the village. The next time John returns, he leaves with several village hunters.

Nathanial wonders if he’s complicit and begins to question his faith. While wandering outside the village, he finds a slave collar and puts the chain around his neck. The villagers believe he’s gone mad.

He recalls how David once told him about his interactions with the locals. David was part of the group of men who were clearing the land for the railroad. They used brute force and violence to make way for modernity, turning villagers against each other and convincing them to kill for the promise of riches. In one town, David and his team murdered everyone, including women and children, and set fire to the buildings. That’s when Nathanial decided he must kill him.

After his confession, Nathanial finds God’s mercy through Solomon, who offers to take him to the waterfalls.