After five years in prison, Marshall Kensey returns to his Mississippi home and faces a less than warm welcome. While his flirtatious sister, gay younger brother and neurotic mother seem happy to see him, tensions rise between Marshall and his older brother, T.G. - an unemployed alcoholic who may be responsible for sending Marshall to jail. As Marshall's childhood and his nightmarish prison experiences are revealed, old family secrets come forth and the party escalates into violence and ultimate tragedy.