October Gale

Helen sails to the island cottage on Georgian Bay to stock up on groceries. The boat's engine dies, stranding her on the water. Marine staff promise to repair it in a few days and ferry her back to her own dock.

On the second night, a thunderstorm awakens Helen to a skiff tied at her pier, with a puddle of blood in the boat’s rear seat. A wounded man, Will, crawls into her cabin seeking help. Being a doctor, Helen surgically treats his shoulder and removes a pistol round, saving his life.

Over the following day, Will refuses to name his shooter and insists on leaving, but his wound leaves him too weak to go far. Helen decides to let him stay in the house for the time being so she can tend him. The two begin an uneasy dependence as they wait for help.

Al the handyman arrives to discuss odd jobs and notices Will’s boat. Will warns him to stay away. Al unties the boats and leaves, causing them to drift; Helen dives in to stop them and nearly drowns, but Will rescues her. They share a kiss afterward.

Will reveals that he killed a man in a bar fight and is being hunted by the father. Helen shares that her husband died the previous October in a storm. Together they resolve to shelter him and try to survive the danger.

They scour the house for bullets for the rifle and remove the dock to prevent a water-based pursuit. The action cements their fragile cooperation as they face the threats outside.

Al returns with Tom, and they search the house and woods for Will. Helen attempts to challenge Tom but is punched and her rifle is taken, forcing her back toward the cabin. The pursuit intensifies as the threat closes in.

Tom reveals that Will was his adopted son, raised to watch over his own biological son. He confirms that Will killed that son after he attacked a woman, though he tries to frame it as justified. The revelation deepens Helen's fear and sympathy for Will.

Al bursts back into the cabin only to be shot by Tom, who believes the act will lure Will into the open. Will returns to confront the danger, drawn by the gunfire and the growing peril in the cottage. The family-like tension finally tears open as violence erupts again.

Will returns and the two men speak softly of their regrets, sharing an uneasy father-and-son moment on the porch. The moment underscores the devastating ties that bind the characters together even as the violence rages inside.

Inside the tense standoff, Helen recalls Tom's earlier move to eject a cartridge and misplace it, which gives her a chance to load the rifle. Will apologizes for what happened, and Tom lifts his gun to murder Will, only to be cut down by Helen's shot. The killing ends the immediate threat and shifts the balance of power to Helen and Will.

The next day in town, Helen encounters what looks like her dead husband, but discovers it is Will. He asks her to leave with him, offering a new life beyond the cottage. The film ends with Helen torn between returning to Toronto and joining Will, leaving her future open.