In a powerful opening sequence, a Native American man grapples with the brutal realities of life, as he hunts in the woods while his wife succumbs to smallpox. Makwa Gi-Zheg, a young Ojibwe boy living in Wisconsin during 1988, faces not only the torment inflicted by his father but also the bullying that occurs at school. His sole source of comfort is his cousin Teddo, who stands by him as they navigate the complexities of childhood. As Makwa begins to develop feelings for a girl, he finds himself envious of James, who effortlessly captures her attention.
In a poignant moment, Makwa's teacher, a priest, delivers a sermon that resonates deeply, stating that a tortured spirit must be free before God, and that one’s refusal to take accountability invites suffering that can spread like a plague. Under Teddo's guidance, Makwa learns how to shoot a rifle, a lesson shaded by the darker impulses building within him. As tensions erupt, he holds a kitchen knife ominously above his father before witnessing James walking through the woods, where he calmly takes aim and shoots him. Together with Teddo, he buries James and grapples with the chilling reality of his actions.
Fast forward to 2019, Makwa has reinvented himself as Michael Peterson, a businessman in California with a baby son and a white wife, Greta. He takes pride in his braided hair, seeing it as an essential part of his identity. Despite his efforts to appear unfazed by his wife’s pregnancy announcement, a darker side of him emerges at a club where, during a disturbing encounter with a stripper, he succumbs to his inner turmoil while reciting Hail Marys.
Meanwhile, Teddo is released from a decade-long prison stint for drug offenses and moves in with his sister Cammy, who has her own young son, Daniel. He feels the weight of missed family connections over the years, realizing Makwa has not been around for significant events. His past is still haunting him, prompting him to confront Lisa, James' mother, in a moment fraught with emotional desperation.
Eventually, Makwa and Teddo meet unexpectedly. Tensions escalate as Teddo reveals he has confessed to various sins and, in a tragic turn, attempts to turn the gun on himself but fails to go through with it. In the heat of the moment, triggered by unnamed resentments, Makwa ends up shooting Teddo in an act of self-defense.
The legal consequences of that fateful encounter loom over Makwa as he faces a Wisconsin investigator regarding James' long-ago disappearance. Tension builds as he visits a bedridden Lisa in the hospital, where he attempts to sway her opinion by portraying Teddo as mentally unstable and unreliable. Despite Makwa's assurances of innocence, Lisa, grounded in her loss, is inclined to believe Teddo's claims, igniting a clash of truths.
As the story unfolds, Makwa finds himself trapped in a web of guilt and fear, exacerbated by the prosecutor's investigation that leaves him feeling increasingly vulnerable. The prosecutor's dismissive attitude toward James’ death as another missing case within the Native American community adds to Makwa's turmoil.
In the culmination of his dual life, Makwa is faced with personal and professional crises, worsened by the unearthing of his past actions. While he receives a promotion, he cannot escape the weight of his bullet wound nor the terrifying memories that return to haunt him. The narrative closes with a stark parallel, returning to the Native American man with smallpox beside his deceased wife as Makwa collapses onto a beach, embodying a profound sense of loss and the cycle of violence that echoes through generations.
