The British Carter family — [Peter Carter], [Sally Carter], and their 9-year-old daughter [Jean Carter] — have just moved to a small Canadian town after he takes a post as the new school principal. That night, Jean Carter appears unsettled and confides in her parents that earlier that day, while playing in a local wood, she and her friend, Lucille, went into the house of an elderly man who asked them to remove their clothes and dance naked before him in return for some sweets. They complied, and Jean says they did nothing wrong, but her parents are shocked and decide to file a complaint.
The accused man, [Clarence Olderberry Sr.], is the doyen of the town’s wealthiest and most influential family, and the town’s mood quickly shifts against the Carters. The police chief casts doubt on Jean’s story, while [Olderberry Jr.] warns that pursuing the case in court could destroy the girl’s credibility. The Carters refuse to back down, and the trial begins under an air of palpable hostility. The defence counsel grips the case with a harsh, intimidating line of questioning that leaves Jean frightened and seeming unreliable, and the verdict comes quickly: Olderberry is acquitted.
Feeling they have no future in that town, the Carters plan to leave. Just before their departure, Jean goes out to ride her bicycle and meets Lucille again. The two girls wander into the woods, where Olderberry approaches with a bag of sweets. He grabs hold of Jean’s bicycle, and the girls, forewarned, run off in panic toward a lake. They reach the water and discover a rowing boat moored at the shore; they hop in to try to reach the far side, but Olderberry begins to pull the boat back in.
Meanwhile, Jean’s bicycle is found and turned over to the police. The chief learns that Olderberry Sr. is missing, prompting a woods-and-lakeside search for the girls. The police find Lucille’s shopping bag, and Olderberry Jr. is found near his father’s belongings, trying to hide a hat. Soon the boat is located, and the SAR dogs lead the search to a cabin where Lucille lies dead and Olderberry Sr. is there, disarrayed and with a haunted, unsettled look. Olderberry Jr. stares in shock at his father, realising the girls’ accounts were true, but there is no sign of Jean.
Back at the Carters’ home, Sally waits with growing worry as news spreads about the missing girls and the Olderberry family. The police arrive with Peter and Jean, and Peter tells Sally that Jean managed to escape Olderberry Sr. and was found wandering unharmed on the other side of the lake. Sally’s heart asks what happened to Lucille, but before Peter can answer, Olderberry Jr. steps forward, overwhelmed with guilt, muttering that his father killed Lucille. The crowd falls silent as the truth sinks in. The police take him away, and the town slowly disperses into a heavy quiet.
