The Passion of Darkly Noon

Darkly, exhausted and disoriented after the cult's violent dissolution and his parents' death, wanders into the Appalachian forest. He is rescued by Jude, a coffin transporter, and Callie, who take him under their care. The encounter marks the beginning of his uneasy transition away from his rigid upbringing.

Callie nurses him back to health in her home as his mind wrestles with leaving behind his religious upbringing. Darkly struggles with the conflict between his past and his growing attraction to Callie. His fragile psyche begins to hinge on this new connection.

Clay, Callie's mute boyfriend who fabricates coffins, returns home, triggering unease in Darkly. The man's return intensifies Darkly's sense that he might lose his fragile place in Callie's world.

Roxy, Clay's mother, confronts Darkly and resents the relationship between Callie and Clay. She also belittles Callie by suggesting she is a witch bent on destroying Roxy's family.

Despite his detached behavior, Darkly becomes good friends with Jude, who supports him as he recovers. This bond gives Darkly a glimpse of a different life outside the cult's world.

Darkly discovers a bizarre giant shoe on the river. When Roxy's dog dies, they use the shoe to stage a floating funeral pyre by placing the body inside and lighting it. The ritual underscores Darkly's growing detachment from ordinary life.

Jude proposes that he and Darkly move away to live together. Darkly agrees, and Jude leaves with plans to return for Darkly. The promise of departure heightens the strain around Callie and Darkly's relationship.

Overcome with loneliness after Jude's departure, Roxy commits suicide. Darkly finds Roxy's body and is haunted by the loss as his mental state deteriorates.

Darkly hallucinates that his dead parents are urging him to kill Callie. The vision crystallizes his sense of being watched and pushed toward violence.

Fully unhinged, Darkly wraps himself in barbed wire, paints himself red, and arms himself with a chiseling tool. He bursts into Callie and Clay's house intending to murder them, and finds them engaged in sex.

A fire erupts as Darkly attacks. Jude arrives with a rifle and enters the burning house to rescue Callie and Clay.

Callie tells Darkly that she loves him, but Darkly hesitates, giving Jude the opportunity to shoot him. Darkly dies in Callie's arms, muttering his final words, 'Who will love me now?'

The next morning, Callie, Clay, and Jude survey the ruined house. A family of circus people arrives, claiming to have lost all their supplies and asking if anyone has seen their giant shoe.

One circus child gives Callie a shoe resembling the giant one, and the trio resolves to seek help together. The moment hints at a tentative, uncertain road forward beyond the wreckage.