Don McKay

Don McKay, a lonely high school janitor, receives a letter from Sonny, his former sweetheart, asking him to visit her in their hometown. She says she is dying of an unnamed disease. Don is hesitant because he was once a suspect in a murder there years ago, but he decides to go anyway. The letter rekindles old regrets and curiosity.

Don hires a ride from the eccentric cabbie Samuel to Sonny's house in their hometown. The ride marks his departure from his ordinary life and foreshadows the uneasy reunion ahead. The cabbie's odd personality hints at the film's tense, unpredictable mood.

Don arrives and is introduced to Sonny and her cold caregiver Marie. Marie's aloofness signals disapproval of Don's presence. The meeting sets a tense, uneasy mood as old memories resurface.

Don and Sonny spend the night together, rekindling their old romance. The moment is intimate but underscored by unease about Sonny's illness and the surrounding secrets. The morning after will bring new tensions and a reminder of the danger surrounding them.

Sonny's doctor Lance Pryce visits the next morning and attacks Don. After a struggle, Don kills Pryce and hides the body in a bed of leaves behind the garden. Don then suffers an allergic reaction to a bee sting and blacks out.

Don regains consciousness in a hospital bed. Sonny visits and proposes marriage, claiming that she had recently spoken to Pryce. The events center on the aftermath of Pryce's assault and the emergence of new intentions.

Don goes to see his old friend Otis, hoping to get help disposing of the body. Otis agrees but when they arrive, the body has vanished, creating confusion and fear. Sonny suddenly appears, misreading the situation as burglars and prompting Otis to flee.

Don withdraws for a few days at home after the chaotic events. He later receives another letter from Sonny asking him to come back. The letter deepens the sense that a larger deception is at work and that his fate remains unsettled.

Samuel picks Don up again, but they are intercepted by Mel, who drags Don to a hotel room. It is revealed that Mel and Marie have been planning all along to kill Don and take an inheritance. Don protests, insisting that there is no inheritance and that he has no knowledge of their plan.

Mel and Samuel drive Don back toward Sonny's house and threaten to go to the police unless Don cooperates with wearing a wire. The plan escalates as they return to the house under the implied coercion of the authorities.

Arriving at Sonny's house, Don hastily proposes to Sonny, claiming he has been mistaken before but now truly loves her. The doorbell rings and Marie and Mel enter, initiating a long confrontation. Sonny strikes Marie over the head with a frozen ham, killing her.

Sonny then tells Mel to kill Don, but Don refuses. A struggle ensues and Sonny kills Mel with the same frozen ham. She explains a large inheritance scheme and that Pryce was her husband. Don reveals that he knows she is not Sonny and that he accidentally killed her and two friends in a fire when he was eighteen.

The police arrive and arrest Don as investigators search the house. Sonny is taken away in a police car, and the police question Don about Samuel's involvement. Samuel's testimony helps clear Don, and he is released from custody.

Thanks to Samuel's testimony and the fact that Don was wearing a wire, the police release him. Don takes Samuel's number and boards a bus back to his hometown, returning to a quieter life with lingering questions about his fate. The future remains uncertain.

Back at his home, Don sits in a chair as a wasp lands on his cheek, leaving his fate uncertain. The scene underscores the film's themes of guilt, memory, and the unpredictable consequences of past actions.