Luke Ripley is a man in his fifties who owns a horse stable in northeastern Massachusetts. Luke has developed a deep connection to religion, and one of his only friends is Father Paul, the priest at a local Catholic church. After his wife left him and took the kids, Luke has begun reflecting on his relationship to his wife and his only daughter, Jennifer. When Jennifer would visit him, Luke observed how she slowly matured into womanhood with a striking resemblance to her mother. One night, when the adult Jennifer is visiting Luke, she hits a man on her way home, breaking down and telling him when she steps through the door. Luke notices how at that moment, it was like she was a girl again, shedding her womanhood to ask her father for his help. Luke sets out to see if he can find the man, coming across him on the side of the road. Luke thinks that he can hear the faintest heartbeat, but he can't feel a pulse and isn't sure. Simultaneously, Luke feels as though God is looking down on him during this endeavor, seeing what he will do about it. Luke drives back to the house, not moving the body or helping, and tries to calm his daughter. The next day, he takes Jennifer's car and crashes it by the church to cover up the damage made by the body. Weeks later, the body is found, but the investigation doesn't find anything. Luke considers confessing it to Father Paul, but decides against it. Luke reflects on the presence of God he felt that night, imagining a conversation between them two. God passes harsh judgement upon him for not letting his child rightly suffer for her sins as he had let Jesus do, and Luke responds that God had a son, but not a daughter. The love a father has for a daughter is different than he has for a son. Luke says that he loves his daughter more than truth.