A Killing Cold

Theodora “Theo” Scott and her fiancé, Connor Dalton, drive toward Idlewood, the Dalton family estate used for holiday gatherings. During the journey, Theo reflects on her red cashmere scarf, recent engagement, and discomfort with snow’s quietness. Connor reminds Theo that she needs to impress his grandmother Louise Dalton, while Theo recalls telling Connor that her parents are dead, though she doesn’t actually know whether this is true.

Their journey is interrupted when a wounded deer, struck by an arrow, stumbles onto the road. Connor swerves to avoid it, and Theo exits the car to check on the animal. The deer collapses but then suddenly rises and flees into the woods, knocking Theo off her feet. This encounter triggers a memory of feeling afraid, though Theo doesn’t remember any details beyond the emotional sensation. Daniel Vance, the groundskeeper, arrives with his dog, Duchess, and a hunting bow, confirming that he shot the deer. As Connor introduces Theo as his fiancée, Vance gives her a scrutinizing look. Privately, Theo remembers receiving an anonymous threatening text warning her to stay away from Connor.

Theo recalls her rapid courtship with Connor, his proposal, and the anonymous threatening texts she has been receiving. As they arrive at Idlewood, Connor explains that his grandparents occupy the main lodge. They are greeted by Alexis Dalton, Connor’s sister, who examines Theo’s engagement ring and mentions that she suggested it to Connor. Alexis shares that her wife, Paloma, and son, Sebastian, are napping nearby.

The conversation turns to cabin assignments, with Alexis explaining that White Pine is traditionally reserved for new couples because of its seclusion. She mentions that their brother Trevor is staying with their mother in the Wildflower cabin. Connor notes that their father, Liam Dalton, never liked that cabin, leading Theo to reflect on how Connor and his siblings must be affected by their father’s death. After Alexis requests a private conversation with Connor, the couple settles into the White Pine cabin, where Connor kisses Theo’s dragonfly tattoo before leaving to speak with his sister. Left alone, Theo checks Connor’s phone to see Alexis’s message and then reviews the threatening texts on her own phone. She attempts to contact her friend Harper but discovers that there is no cell signal at Idlewood, intensifying her sense of isolation.

Theo prepares for dinner at the lodge, briefly recalling an early childhood memory of a woman in a red scarf. She wonders whether the scarf looked like the one she is wearing now—an expensive gift from Connor. Connor returns from his conversation with Alexis, appearing tense about a family matter. At the lodge, they are greeted by Irina, the housekeeper, and join Alexis, Paloma, and Sebastian. Theo faces an interrogation from Louise about her background, to which she responds with half-truths. She nods in agreement when Louise asks whether she is an orphan, and she privately thinks that this is not a lie but a simplified version of the truth. She states truthfully that she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and works in a bookstore, but when Louise appears disappointed, she lies and says that she is planning to go back to school for a master’s degree.

The questioning is interrupted by the arrival of Connor’s grandfather Magnus Dalton, who announces dinner. After Connor reassures Theo, she visits the bathroom, where she discovers a 1983 map of Idlewood showing five cabins and the Grand Lodge. The corner of the map is scorched, and Theo remembers Louise mentioning that the old lodge was damaged in a fire. The discovery prompts her to reflect on her efforts to hide her past and the fabricated history she presents to the Daltons. She believes that the Daltons do not keep or repair damaged things but throw them away and replace them, and she fears that they will do the same to her.

In the foyer, Theo encounters Nick Dalton, Connor’s uncle, who appears startled by her presence. After introducing herself, Theo reflects on her name, derived from “Theodora,” the name given to her by her abusive adoptive parents, the Scotts. The name means “gift from God,” reflecting the Scotts’ religious fundamentalism. Theo remembers that she changed the name to simply “Theo” in order to reclaim her identity.

At dinner, she meets Trevor, and tensions surface regarding his past behavior. Irina and her daughter, Olena, serve venison shot by Magnus, which Theo claims to appreciate due to her hunting experience, surprising Magnus. Nick and Alexis probe Theo’s origins, while Louise criticizes the hasty engagement.

When Trevor implies that Theo is after Connor’s money, Magnus defends quick marriages, remarking that he and Louise also married soon after meeting. The conversation grows tense when the fifth, derelict cabin is mentioned, creating an uncomfortable silence. Sebastian, Alexis and Paloma’s young son, becomes upset when he learns that venison is deer meat. After dinner, Alexis privately apologizes to Theo and offers an alliance, but she warns her not to hurt Connor, who she says hasn’t been happy. As Theo leaves, she notices Trevor watching her from a window, smiling and shaking his head in a disconcerting gesture that increases her unease.

Theo experiences a vivid nightmare featuring a red star, a dragonfly, and an antlered man. Connor comforts her, and she reflects on her amnesia regarding early childhood trauma. She again comments to herself that she remembers little from her early childhood other than a red scarf wound around a woman’s throat. During their conversation, Connor reveals that his father, Liam Dalton, died in a fall from a roof at Idlewood. When Theo mentions Alexis’s comment about his unhappiness, Connor attributes it to lingering grief over his father’s death.

In the morning, Theo notices footprints in the snow leading to their cabin window. Following them, she arrives at the dilapidated fifth cabin and observes marks where a door ornament was removed. Daniel Vance appears with Duchess and confronts Theo, escorting her back while explaining that Liam died at that specific cabin while repairing storm damage. Before parting, Vance asks if Theo has visited Idlewood before, a question she denies but that leaves her feeling distinctly uneasy.

Theo awakens and reflects on her constructed identity as “Theo Scott” before sharing an intimate moment with Connor. Alexis arrives to announce that their mother, Rose Dalton, has arrived for the family’s traditional “Pie Day.” In the kitchen, Theo meets Rose, who greets her coolly, while Louise oversees pie preparation. For Theo, the experience triggers painful memories of peeling apples with Beth Scott, her adoptive mother. Beth promised the young Theo a prize if she could remove the peel of an apple in a single piece, and when Theo succeeded and asked what the prize was, Beth called her greedy and physically abused her. In the present, Rose and Louise question Theo, with Rose noting her dragonfly tattoo with obvious distaste.

After taking out the trash, Theo observes Trevor kissing Olena. She is then enlisted by Magnus to help hang and dress a deer in a processing shed. During this task, Magnus questions Theo about her hunting experience, her adoptive father, and her origins. He shares his perspectives on family, noting Liam’s softness and emphasizing the importance of strength and bloodlines. Impressed by Theo’s assistance, Magnus invites her to join him hunting, a gesture that serves as both a sign of acceptance and a test.

Returning to the lodge covered in blood from the deer processing, Theo overhears Louise, Rose, and Alexis discussing her relationship with Connor and what family information he might have shared with her. When Alexis spots the blood-spattered Theo, the family reacts with shock. Louise directs Theo to return to her cabin to clean up, stating that Irina will collect her soiled clothes.

While washing blood from her sweater and skin, Theo experiences traumatic childhood flashbacks involving blood. Her distress increases when she discovers a green gift-wrapped box on her windowsill addressed to “DORA,” the nickname used by her adoptive parents. Inside, Theo finds a threatening note reading, “You shouldn’t have come” (60). She realizes that the warning must come from someone at Idlewood who knows details about her past identity, escalating the sense of danger surrounding her.

Connor brings dinner to Theo, who hides the threatening gift box. When she suggests leaving Idlewood, Connor insists that they stay. That night, Theo’s nightmares intensify. She dreams of dressing the deer, but as soon as she opens its belly, the deer transforms into Connor as an antlered man. She is in a cabin, but it is older and more rustic than the one where she’s staying in real life. The deer man chases her outside, and she sees a dragonfly perched on the outside of the cabin door.

The next day, while cross-country skiing with Rose, Connor, Alexis, and Paloma, Theo struggles due to a lack of experience. Rose hangs back to talk privately with Theo. She discusses the wedding plans, mentions a prenuptial agreement, and shares regrets about her own marriage to Liam, whose cause of death she describes as a fall from the lodge roof—contradicting previous accounts.

Drawn to investigate the fifth cabin alone, Theo discovers a dragonfly silhouette on the door that eerily resembles her tattoo. Finding the door unlocked, she enters and notices evidence of recent candle use inside. She wonders why the cabin resembles the one in her dream. Upstairs, Theo discovers a child’s room containing a daisy-patterned bedspread that matches one of her fragmented memories, suggesting a personal connection to the abandoned cabin that confirms her growing suspicions about her past relationship to Idlewood.

Inside the fifth cabin, now identified as Dragonfly, Theo is struck by the overwhelming familiarity of the child’s room with its daisy patterns and distinctive scents of cedar, pine, dust, and lavender. In the main bedroom, she discovers a brass dragonfly ornament on the vanity that matches both the door silhouette and her tattoo, strengthening the connection between her past and this place.

Searching further, Theo finds a hidden photograph wedged behind the vanity. The image shows Liam holding the hand of a young girl at Idlewood. The child holds a stuffed bear with a bright red ribbon around its throat, reminiscent of the red scarf that Theo remembers from her early childhood. With shock, Theo recognizes the child as herself, providing concrete evidence that she lived at Idlewood as a child and had a relationship with the Dalton family—specifically with Connor’s father—long before meeting Connor.

Back in the White Pine cabin, Theo obsesses over the photograph, connecting it to fragmented memories of her adoption by the Scotts and the trauma of having her early years erased. She contemplates telling Connor about her discovery but hesitates. When Connor returns from skiing, Theo quickly hides the photograph in a book before he opens the door to enter. He jokes with her, but she notices a flat tone to his voice that suggests he’s upset.

Connor reveals that his family has expressed doubts about their relationship and suggested that he doesn’t truly know Theo. Rather than sharing her discovery, Theo reassures Connor and initiates physical intimacy to avoid the difficult conversation. Connor makes love more assertively and less gently than usual, and while she enjoys this, Theo wonders what has caused the change. When Connor suggests staying in for dinner, offering to cook, Theo agrees, further postponing her confession about her connection to Idlewood and the Dalton family.

As Connor prepares dinner, the couple shares wine and reminisces about books, including the one where Theo has hidden the photograph. Theo cautiously asks if guests, particularly children, ever attended the family’s winter retreats at Idlewood. Connor firmly denies this possibility, citing strict family rules that only Daltons attend at Christmas.

A moment of hesitation in Connor’s response suggests that he might recall something contradicting this assertion, but he quickly reaffirms the family-only rule. When questioned about her interest, Theo dismisses it as casual curiosity. Despite the perfect opportunity to reveal the photograph proving her childhood presence at Idlewood, Theo decides to continue concealing this evidence, pushing it deeper into the book, where it remains hidden.

The next morning, after Connor leaves for skiing with his male relatives, Theo re-examines the photograph, confirming that the young girl’s birthmarks match her own. Outside, she discovers Sebastian alone in the cold and wraps him in a blanket. She carries him back to the Red Fox cabin, where he’s staying with his mothers. The cabin is locked, but Nick finds them and takes them to his cabin, Bumblebee.

While waiting for Sebastian’s parents, Nick discusses his daughters and his recent separation from their mother, mentioning a past incident in which one of the Dalton children briefly went missing, though he can’t remember who it was. They eventually locate a distraught Olena with Trevor. Nick gets the key to the Red Fox cabin from Olena, and then Trevor takes Olena back to her room while Nick asks Theo to take Sebastian back to Red Fox to wait for his moms. Speaking privately to Theo, Nick criticizes Trevor’s irresponsibility and compares him to Liam. Before Theo leaves with Sebastian, Nick unexpectedly asks if she ever used the nickname “Teddy.” Though the name feels strangely familiar, Theo denies it. The question continues to echo in her mind as she returns Sebastian to Red Fox, as it suggests that Nick may recognize her from the past.