The Early home is a modest, but very neat house on a bonsai tree farm. Inside, the Early family (Dwayne, Judith, Kyra & Karl) is celebrating one year in the new house. Dwayne wants to celebrate, but the others are less excited about their year on the farm. Karl blows out the candle impatiently and Judith starts serving up the cake. Karl turns on the TV to watch the Golden State Warriors game, but an announcer has broken in to say that Hurricane Carl is expected to be a category 5 by the time it hits land.
Dwayne is concerned about the storm. Kyra makes fun of the fact that the storm shares her brother's name, but he's careful to point out the differences in spelling. Dwayne says he'll have to go to the hardware store. The hurricane is definitely going to hit the panhandle, but they don't know exactly where. The announcer says it could be a particularly bad storm.
Later Dwayne takes the trash out and is hassled through the fence by the neighbors' dog, Jeffrey, an aggressive and seemingly violent mutt. The dog barks at him, but can't get through the fence. Dwayne falls on his ass and he gets upset. He picks up a rock and throws it at the dog, nailing it in the head. The dog yelps and runs off. Dwayne goes inside.
The camera follows Jeffrey through the maze-like junkyard next door to the front door of the Hasley home. The Hasleys are poorer and their home is dirtier. The family is Charley, Barbra, Billy, George, Russell and Keith. It's Charley's birthday and he blows out the candles. Keith wants cake and doesn't care about the rest, but George tells him to wish is father happy birthday. He does and Charley asks for water. Billy gets it, but Charley coughs and falls to the ground. Billy goes to help his father. George calls 911. An ambulance comes to take him to the hospital.
Tukabatchee State Prison is out-of-date and dirty. Irving Buss chats in the TV room with Muschetti, Barkley and Jackson. Irving explains that he doesn't belong here. Barkley explains how most of them don't belong here. Jackson says he definitely does belong here. Muschetti doesn't want to go on some gig that the warden wants him to go on. Irving wonders why he isn't going. Muschetti wants Irving to know what they're doing in case anything happens. CO Vaught sees them talking. So do three Black men: Ronnie, Ricky and Michael.
Dwayne visits Rincon's, a family hardware store. He's getting advice about preparing his farm for the hurricane. George and Russell Hasley overhear him, but he doesn't notice them. He buys what he needs and heads outside. The Hasley brothers don't buy anything, following him outside instead.
Outside, Dwayne chats with Sheriff Ted Boone, so George and Russell hang back. Dwayne notes that the hardware store is pretty empty. Boone is a bit tongue-tied, but he blames it on construction going down at the state prison and preparation for the upcoming store. Dwayne is skeptical, but lets Boone depart, questions unanswered. Russell and George appear and harass Dwayne. They're worried that his inexperience will hurt their business. The two sides quietly insult each others' intelligence and Russell wants to fight. George stops him and Dwayne leaves. Russell yells racist comments after Dwayne.
On a Tugendbund oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the three prisoners (Muschetti, Barkley & Jackson) stand on the platform as rain and wind whips the structure. Muschetti and Barkley climb a scaffold to grab a small box with a red light on it. Koy (a mercenary) and Vaught walk onto the platform and hurry the other men. Jackson tells them this is the last box.
On the scaffold, Muschetti reaches for the box when a glowing blue snake with many, many legs emerges and bites him on the hands and face. He falls, bounces off the platform and falls into the ocean. Vaught tells Barkley to get the last box. Barkley tells him it's already broken. Koy tells them to get out of there.
At Tukabatchee State Prison, Vaught and Koy join Warden Bryant, Sheriff Boone and another corrections officer, Neyland, in debriefing Barkley and Jackson. Barkley tells the truth while Jackson stays out of it. Bryant doesn't fully believe Barkley. He dismisses the two prisoners and confirms that Koy paid money to their families and Muschetti's family. Bryant and Koy confirm that Muschetti is dead and that the warden is going to frame someone else for the death. Vaught says the prisoners' stories check out, but Koy says there were no snakes and the last box was fully operational. Bryant is puzzled and calls for a meeting. Koy starts setting it up.
At Sid's Delicious Cafe, Judith meets with Audrey Newman, her friend and professional colleague. Audrey asks how Dwayne was able to drag Judith to the farm, but Judith reveals she was raised on a farm and she's teaching him how to do it. Audrey notes that Dwayne isn't the handiest man around the house and they laugh. Audrey says she's thinking of starting up a women's business roundtable again, noting that there are more women business owners in town. She notes that they WON'T invite Maggie Brown back. Audrey asks how Judith's doing. Judith doesn't answer, but her body language says "not good." Judith was promised that the bonsai tree would bring riches and moving to the small town would give her serenity. Audrey gives Judith a card for her landscaping guys.
At the Early home, a Foreman passes along instructions from Judith. They need to build shelves and move all the bonsai trees inside. Judith is going to help them, which impresses the Foreman.
That night, Kyra sneaks into the Hasley's junkyard and starts stealing the company emblem from several Mercedes Benzes. One of the glowing blue snakes scares her and she runs away, careful to bring the emblems she already removed from the cars. George emerges from the shadows, he was watching her.
In the Tukabatchee High School gym, basketball practice is in full swing. Russell Hasley is a starter and team captain while Karl Early plays for the backup squad in an intrasquad scrimmage. Karl covers Russell, who drains a three. Karl is hard on himself. Karl covers Russell further out and Russell drives past him for a layup. Karl covers Russell tightly this time and when Russell goes for the drive, Karl pokes the ball free and a teammate gets it and scores. Back-up point guard Dennis Lien passes to Karl for an easy layup. Karl works hard to get open against Russell. Karl covers Russell tightly again and Russell passes to a teammate who gets an easy jumper. Dennis dribbles down court and Karl isolates in the corner against Russell. Dennis feeds him the ball and with a series of jukes, Karl gets Russell to fall down and then scores an easy layup. Coach Gallant is impressed with Karl.
After practice, Karl nearly falls asleep on a bench in front of the school, waiting for his parents to pick him up. Keith sneaks up and ties Karl's shoes to the bench and Russell wakes him, telling Karl his mother is waiting for him. Karl leaps up, but trips and falls to his face. Russell and Keith laugh as they run away.
At the Early home, workmen carry bonsai trees into the barn and place them on shelves. Marilyn helps out, moving the baby trees. Roth and the workmen laugh when they see she's helping out and Roth introduces himself. Marilyn says her mom is going to pay her for helping out. Judith comes out of the house to check on them and everything is going so well, they're ahead of schedule.
Jeffrey wanders through the junkyard and gets spooked by one of the many-legged glowing blue snakes, which bites him. He takes off and bursts through a broken part of the fence and into the Early's yard. Marilyn carries a bonsai tree towards the barn when Jeffrey charges her and latches onto her ankle. Workmen scare the dog away and blood flows from Marilyn's ankle.
Dwayne parks his jeep at home and runs inside. He learns that the bite wasn't too bad and Marilyn is on painkillers. She needed 16 stitches and a tetanus shot. Judith tells Dwayne he has to do something. He walks over the Hasley home.
George is in the bedroom he shares with Billy, secretly masturbating to gay porn. Keith knocks on the door, telling George that Dwayne Early is at the door. George cleans up.
At the front door, Dwayne asks if their father is home. George says he's in the hospital because of a stroke. Billy joins them. Dwayne says he's complaining again about noise, strange visitors, the upkeep of the junkyard. He complains that rats have begun to come onto his property. Russell says Jeffrey will take care of the rats. Dwayne tells them the dog bit his daughter. George tries to play peacemaker. Dwayne sees through it and says he's not going to vote for George. George gets upset and tells him to screw off. Billy tells Dwayne to get off their property. Dwayne tells them to get rid of the dog or he'll contact the sheriff. George says they'll send the dog to his cousin's farm. Keith freaks out but Russell tells him it's not really going to happen. Dwayne overhears this, but doesn't say anything.
Charley sits in a hospital bed, his family around him. Charley says he needs to get out of there, but Barbra calms him. George offers help, but Billy says they're already taking care of things. Charley says they're kids, and they can't handle it. Barbra shuts him down. Charley asks for his phone, Billy grabs it. As he does, he finds a unfamiliar coin and he pockets it. George grabs the phone from Billy and walks it to Charley, but Barbra takes it away.
She takes Billy and George into the hallway to talk in private. She tells them they have to stop stressing him out. George is in denial about how bad his father's condition is. She tells them he has to go out of state for treatment and he'll be done at least 6 months. Barbra is going with him. Billy takes charge until they get back.
Back at the Hasley home, the boys eat takeout chicken. George tells them he saw Kyra stealing from the junkyard. Billy doesn't care. George says he'll take care of it himself. George goes into his and Billy's room, Billy goes into his parents room. The younger brothers finish off the chicken. Billy looks around his parents' room, bored. He finds a fancy box and opens it. Inside he finds a flag for the Black Sheep Civic Society and a ring with the initials BSCS. He pulls out the coin and discovers that they match. Inside the box is a book with detailed directions for the ceremonies of the BSCS. He puts everything back except the coin.
Kyra works on a metal statue of the character "Fat Mama" from the show "Who Wants To Be A Superhero." George appears and asks about the statue. Kyra is standoffish, she clearly doesn't like George. George says he's figured out how to pretend to like art because he's going to run for mayor. Everyone else wants Billy to run, but Billy doesn't want to. George does. Kyra says she's voting for his opponent. George calls her a criminal for stealing from the junkyard. He makes fun of her art aspirations. She says she's taking time off from college at SCAD. She says she might volunteer for his opponent. After enough jabs, George takes offense. He warns her that Billy won't be so nice if she continues to steal from the junkyard. He notes that Billy is friends with the sheriff. She hears the warning.
At the high school, the basketball team scrimmages. Karl has moved to the starting team. In the bleachers, a scout and a radio announcer discuss the players. Russell listens in as much as he can, but their evaluation of him isn't good. He hasn't grown when all the other players have, so he's losing ground athletically. And his skills aren't that good. He used to be the star, but he's nearing the end of his career. He's a fifth-year senior because his dad rammed through an injury exception that let him stay in school longer.
In the scrimmage, Karl plays the point and drains a three over Dennis. The announcer tells the scout that Karl has shown some flashes, but this is his first time playing with the starters. He grew nearly six inches over the summer. Karl passes to center Mack Johnson for an alley-oop. Karl steals the ball from Dennis and passes the ball to Russell, but the pass is high and it goes out of bounds. Karl takes responsibility. Karl posts up against Dennis and hits a turnaround jumper. Karl passes to Russell and it's a good pass this time. Russell scores. Karl tries to high five Russell, but ignores him. Another starter, Aaron Kleinfeld misses a three and Russell gets the rebound. He's covered by 6'9" freshman Theo Rodriguez. Karl is open, but Russell refuses to pass to him and takes the ball towards the much taller player. Russell shoots, but Theo blocks him. The coaches take note
Marilyn approaches the front door of the school on crutches and struggles to open the door. Keith rushes to open the door for her, but she tells him to buzz off. She almost falls over and has to accept Keith's help. She coughs, she's getting sick. Finally she gives in and lets him open the door. She coughs again. He asks if she's okay. A group of popular girls rushes to take care of Marilyn and they push Keith away, calling him a loser.
In the middle of the night, Dwayne and Judith are sleeping. Jeffrey the dog starts barking. Judith asks if he's going to do something about it. He goes back to sleep. Judith calls 9-1-1. Later, Judith and Dwayne watch out the window and see police lights at the Halsey house. The sheriff takes Jeffrey and puts him in a K-9 truck. Russell and George have to hold Keith back.
At the Black Sheep Civic Society's lodge, Sheriff Boone tells the other men that he returned the Hasley dog several hours later. Among the other men present are Warden Bryant, COs Vaught and Neyland, the mercenary Koy and local politician Ricky Howards. George walks in and takes a seat. He tells them that Charley won't be coming, but he has his father's proxy. Boone says they've met quorum and business should begin. Ricky says that all three local Bonsai tree farms are requesting storm aid, but he told them they aren't eligible. Ricky thinks Early could be a problem, but nothing yet. Bryant reports that the prison is ready for the storm. Vaught says the oil rigs have been cleaned and secured. Koy confirms Vaught's story. Ricky said the paperwork has been filed and their emergency funds will be among the first approved. Neyland says something at the prison doesn't see right. Vaught has no idea what he's talking about. He says people should stay alert.
The Hasley family visits the hospital to say goodbye to Charley. He's dressed and moving around. He's checking out to head to a clinic in Texas. George pushes for Barbra to stay and run things, but she says she can't. Billy will be in charge. George and Russell aren't happy, but she's adamant. Charley backs up Barbra.
Dwayne arrives home and calls everyone in for a family meeting. He tells them there won't be any emergency help, but that applies to all of the Bonsai tree growers. If they are able to get everything into the barn, they'll be able to corner the market. If they survive the storm, he says they'll be in great shape. The others are skeptical.
The next day, Judith grabs the mail and tosses it on her car seat. She drives to a grocery store. Once there, she checks the mail and finds a foreclosure notice for the Bonsai tree farm. Inside, Judith finds a very short book about the Tukabatchee Massacre and she buys it. She calls Audrey on her phone and tells her that Judith's next book will be on the Massacre. Judith notices that Billy is following her. She tells Audrey to stay on the line to be careful. She gets to her car and Billy stops following. She drives away.
At the prison, everyone gets ready for the storm. Irving huddles with Barkley and Jackson. They tell him what happened to Muschetti. Jackson walks away as Vaught comes into the room. Barkley leaves via a different route and Vaught follows him. Irving returns to his cell and Ronnie, Ricky and Michael arrive to talk to him. Ronnie tells Irving they have a job for him, but Irving refuses. They give him a shiv and they show him that they have the key to his cell. He agrees to do the job.
Kyra finishes welding her Fat Mama statue. George arrives again and congratulates her for finishing the stupid thing. She says it's not stupid and he says it was just a joke. She says she wasn't offended, because she doesn't care about him. He's boring. It's the first life-sized work she finished. She didn't want to share the accomplishment with him. George misreads her signals and he kisses her. She pulls away in disgust. He says she's LGBT and he has "feelings" in that area, so they should be fine to kiss. She tells him that's not how this stuff works. She laughs at him and he knocks her statue down, breaking it into several pieces. He runs away.
In his office, Coach Gallant tells Russell that he'll be coming off the bench. Theo will be starting. Russell asks how he's supposed to get a scholarship from the bench and coach tells him it's time to readjust his expectations. Gallant says he'll still get a lot of playing time and he'll be a scoring punch off the bench. He asks Russell if he can commit to that. Russell reluctantly agrees.
In the locker room, Karl and the rest of the team are chatting after practice. Theo says he's going to buy a bed big enough to fit his 6'9" frame. Dennis says he's going to buy a gold jersey and the others make fun of him. Russell comes in, clearly angry. Karl says he wants to get a scholarship, but not just for basketball. He wants to use his scholarship to help out in Africa somehow. He doesn't have any details, but he likes the idea of using white people's money to help Africa. Russell says he's full of crap and he'll cave and buy cars and gold chains like everyone else.
Marilyn leaves the school, still struggling with her crutches. Keith holds the door for her and she goes extra slow to inconvenience him. She coughs again and he asks if she's okay. She brushes it off. He apologizes for the dog biting him. She studies his face and concludes he's sincere. She thanks him and says it wasn't his fault. She says she’s sorry they took his dog away. He's not upset about it and she calls him on it. He struggles to respond and she faints.
The Early family visits Marilyn in the hospital. Dwayne tells Judith it's time to take the other kids home and to make sure everything at the house is locked up.
Heavy rain falls on the Early home. They sit inside watch the weather report. The announcer says the storm has stalled offshore and has reached category 5 with winds up to 160 mph. Tropical storm level winds are battering Tukabatchee. Dwayne sees that the barn door is loose and he grabs a chain to take care of it.
At the prison, Bryant makes announcements to the prisoners, who are gathered in the cafeteria. Ronnie gives Irving the signal and then asks Bryant a question. He tells Bryant they aren't going to do work for the warden. He says they know about Muschetti. Ronnie whistles and the men erupt in a riot. Irving pulls the shiv from his pocket and takes a few steps towards Bryant.
Dwayne goes outside in heavy-duty rain gear. He carries a chain towards the barn. Out of nowhere, Jeffrey attacks him, knocking him to the ground. Jeffrey bites his hand and draws blood. Dwayne punches the dog then manages to get the chain into the dog's mouth. He holds it off by pushing the chain, gagging the dog.
At the prison, Ronnie orders Irving to go. He does and stabs Bryant in the stomach twice. COs use extreme violence to start taking control of the room. Neyland and Vaught brutally beat Irving into submission.
Jeffrey pulls away from Dwayne and he wraps the chain around the dog's neck and chokes it to death.
At the prison, Irving is still alive, but he’s battered and bloody. A CO cuffs him while the others take down the riot.
Dwayne walks back into his house, dirty and wet. His family asks him what's wrong and he says he just killed that damned dog. The family hugs.