In 1956, Avis is at a train station in Boston with her brother, Dalton. They arrived there from Connecticut and were supposed to head to their hometown of New Brunswick, Canada, for their father’s funeral. However, they were detained by the loss of their father’s coffin somewhere along the journey. They miss the train, forcing Avis to call their cousin, Stanley, who agrees to pick the siblings and coffin up and drive them to Canada. During the wait and on the car ride, Avis remembers her relationship with her father, Bill. Avis was Bill’s favorite; she was the one who took care of him after her mother died in childbirth and he suffered strokes. In the absence of her father, Avis drinks to forget. Meanwhile, Avis and Dalton’s two sisters, Idella and Emma, wait in the chapel in New Brunswick for the coffin to arrive, along with Bill’s other family members and friends. The crowd in the church keeps their spirits up, telling their favorite stories of Bill. Idella keeps her distance; she remembers the bad things her father was wont to do. He was an abusive alcoholic. He was once accused of rape and was suspected of an incestuous relationship with Avis. Emma and Dalton share similar reservations about their father, but while Dalton drowns his sadness with drink, Emma stays quiet. Eventually, Avis and Dalton arrive with the coffin. The funeral is a somber occasion, held in the early hours of the day due to the delay. The siblings bury their father with some whiskey. One remarks on how they’ve now become orphans, to which another replies that they’ve long been orphans. They head up the hill to their childhood home, saying goodbye to their father one last time.