The Reflecting Skin

In a field on the Idaho prairie, Seth and his friends inflate a frog with a reed and leave it by the roadside. Dolphin Blue, a local English widow, stops to inspect the odd sight. Seth shoots the inflated frog with a slingshot, causing it to explode over Dolphin, marking the start of her unsettling presence in his life.

A mysterious group of young men in a black Cadillac visits Seth at the gas station where he works, promising to see him again soon. The encounter unsettles him and hints at a larger danger looming over his world. He returns to his family’s roadside life trying to make sense of the men’s interest.

Seth is sent to Dolphin’s house to apologize for the prank. Dolphin is haunted by memories of her husband’s suicide, and her home is filled with relics from a whaling past. Seth half-seriously interprets her melancholy through the lens his father fed him about vampires, and begins to believe she might be one.

When Eben goes missing, Seth and Kim decide to investigate Dolphin’s house for clues. They invade Dolphin’s bedroom and destroy some of her belongings, then hear her downstairs and spy on her as she moans and touches herself. They are caught, scream, and run outside as Seth spots the Cadillac once more.

Seth finds Eben’s dead body floating in a water cistern, confirming the town’s fears that something sinister is at work. Authorities hint that Luke may be involved due to a past sexual history, which escalates the town’s suspicion. In despair, Luke douses himself with gasoline and commits self-immolation.

Cameron returns from military service to help with Seth and his shell-shocked mother Ruth. He visits Dolphin’s house, and a romance blossoms between Cameron and Dolphin, much to Seth’s horror. The affair deepens Seth’s sense of betrayal and fuels his anger.

In a nearby barn, Seth and Kim discover an ossified dead fetus, which Seth takes home, believing it to be Eben incarnate as a fallen angel. The bizarre find reinforces his mystic beliefs and guilt about Eben’s fate. Cameron later shows Seth a photograph of a baby dying from radiation poisoning, which unsettles him further.

The photograph of a dying baby, shown by Cameron, anchors Seth’s anxieties in the nuclear era and the fragility of life. The image fascinates and disturbs him as he tries to make sense of Eben’s fate and the adults’ secrets. Seth’s worldview grows more distorted as he blends science, superstition, and guilt.

The next day, Seth follows Cameron to Dolphin’s house and witnesses Cameron confess his culpability in atomic bomb experiments to Dolphin. Cameron and Dolphin begin a love affair, creating a deeper rift in Seth’s loyalties. Seth then sees the black Cadillac abducting Kim, realizing danger is closing in.

Cameron’s health deteriorates from radiation sickness, which Seth attributes to Dolphin’s supposed vampirism. The dramatic decline underscores the cost of the adults’ secrets on the younger generation. The tension in the town intensifies as fear and suspicion mount.

Kim’s body is discovered the next day, and authorities still believe Luke is alive and responsible for past crimes. This denial of the truth intensifies the community’s confusion and grief. Seth’s world becomes increasingly unreliable as he watches everyone around him crumble.

With Cameron and Dolphin growing closer, Seth concentrates his rage on Dolphin and seeks guidance from the fetus Eben at night. The intervention mirrors Seth’s struggle to separate reality from his visions. The exchange leaves him more isolated and desperate.

The following day, as Dolphin is about to get a ride from the Cadillac men, Seth does not warn her of the danger. Dolphin’s body is found, and Cameron breaks down in front of Seth. Seth runs to a nearby field and screams at the setting sun, marking a devastating end to his innocence.