Immediately before his tragic death, stuttering mechanic Dave visits his younger brother Denny with a note for their sister Dianne. “D-don’t r-read it. D-don’t open it. D-don’t nnothing it,” Dave commands before taking off one last time for the abandoned family cabin at Mahihkan Lake, a place where disputes are settled with shotguns and arson is written off as an act of God. After the funeral – and a brief stint in rehab for the gin-dependent Denny – he and Dianne head north to spread their adopted brother’s ashes and attempt to rebuild their fractured relationship. Meanwhile Harold, a truck driver who has lost everything, sets out on a solo canoe trip towards his own cabin at Mahihkan.