In the present day, 80-year-old Edward Shank stands in his house on Poppy Lane, smoking a cigar beside his prized piano. After a recent fall injured his hip, he has reluctantly agreed to move into Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence, giving his grandson Matthew the house. Edward reflects on his late wife Marisol a Juilliard-trained pianist, and their daughter Lucy, both of whom once played the piano. He knows he must leave the house and its 50 years of history behind.

As he examines the piano, Edward notices a fresh dent in the corner. When the moving truck arrives, he takes one final look around—his eyes lingering on the dent left when he killed Marisol four months earlier by smashing her head into the piano. He had carefully cleaned away all the blood before calling emergency services.

Matt Shank introduces himself and his priorities: his signature Filipino dish, adobo, the Seattle Seahawks, and his girlfriend, Samantha (Sam) Marquez. His adobo recipe, based on his grandmother’s version, has driven his successful food truck and his restaurant, also called Adobo, which has received national media attention and a reality show offer from the Fresh Network.

Matt’s grandparents, Edward and Marisol, raised him after his teenage mother, Lucy, died of a drug overdose when he was an infant. Matt is about to move into the family house on Poppy Lane. Sam assumes this means they will move in together, but Matt refuses, insisting he needs to achieve this milestone independently. Despite their three-year relationship, he repeatedly deflects her requests to live together. She enlists their mutual friend, Jason Sullivan, a retired Seahawks quarterback, to advocate for her, but Matt remains firm.

Matt drives a rented moving truck to the Sweetbay house, followed by friends Jason Sullivan and PJ Wu, who are helping to deliver Matt’s new bed. When PJ spits chewing gum onto the lawn, Matt angrily demands that he pick it up. The confrontation escalates until Jason intervenes.

Edward appears in the doorway, smoking a cigar, and his commanding presence causes all three men to compose themselves. After Jason and PJ head to the truck, Edward privately advises Matt to pick his battles wisely—while he agrees PJ was disrespectful, he notes that Matt needs his help today and should save his anger for the workplace.

Matt plans to build a deck and install a hot tub in his backyard. One day, his contractor calls to report that his crew has unearthed a large buried plastic crate. Matt brings it inside, and when his cat knocks it off the table, the damaged crate breaks open, spilling a foul-smelling greenish liquid. Inside, Matt finds women’s clothing, a hairbrush, and lingerie. He initially wonders if these belonged to his mother, Lucy.

At the bottom of the crate, he discovers about a dozen Mason jars containing preserved human left hands, a leather scrapbook with newspaper clippings about the Beacon Hill Butcher and locks of hair labeled with women’s names, and a VHS tape. Matt plays the tape and watches in horror as his grandfather tortures, mutilates, rapes, and murders a 14-year-old girl named Jessica in their garage. The tape ends with Edward holding up a handwritten sign listing the date—August 22, 1974—Jessica’s name, and her age. Matt realizes that Edward Shank is the real Beacon Hill Butcher.

Sam is a true-crime writer whose latest project examines the Beacon Hill Butcher, believed to have murdered 14 young women between 1978 and 1985. Sam believes that her mother, Sarah Marquez, was also a Butcher victim, though Sarah was killed in 1987, two years after police shot Rufus Wedge. Unlike the other Butcher victims, Sarah still had both hands, and her case remains unsolved. Sam has been researching through a true-crime forum and has discussed her theories with Edward Shank, who led the original investigation and offered to write a foreword for her book.

During an online conversation, a user named KillerRed claims to know the Butcher’s real identity and uploads a photo of a teenage girl standing beside Sarah, revealing that she was Sarah’s best friend. She wants to meet Sam in person to share information that might reopen the case. Despite her reservations, Sam agrees.

Edward settles into his new room at Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence. He finds the activities tedious and misses his house, often driving past it to check on things. He wonders if the renovation crew has found the crate he buried in the backyard. He has been anticipating the conversation with Matt, believing his grandson will understand.

Late one night, unable to sleep, Edward spots fellow resident Greg Bonner, who is heading to the communal kitchen for a snack. Edward follows him, and when he finds Bonner alone, he grabs him by the throat and slams his head into the counter. Bonner dies instantly. Edward returns to his room, feeling temporarily satisfied.

Sam drops by Adobo unannounced after two days without hearing from Matt. The bartender warns her that Matt has been in a foul mood, screaming at staff all week. In the alley behind the restaurant, she finds Matt furiously berating PJ for arriving late after a fender bender, threatening his job despite their long friendship. PJ walks away, near tears, and tells Sam to talk to Matt.

When Matt turns his anger on Sam, she shuts him down immediately. He apologizes, blaming stress and sleeplessness, and deflects her offer to stay at his house by insisting it is too messy. Sam mentions that she is meeting Jason, whom she has known since childhood, the next day, which triggers a flash of jealousy from Matt. They part on uneasy terms.

Sam asks Jason to accompany her to Pike Place Market to meet KillerRed. At the market, a woman in her forties named Bonnie Tidwell approaches and staggers upon seeing Sam’s face—she is struck by the resemblance to Sarah. Bonnie confirms that she and Sarah were best friends, and she helped care for Sam as a baby; she says that Sam once called her “Baba,” a nickname that triggers a faint memory in Sam. Bonnie wears a gold bear pendant that she touches frequently.

Moved by the encounter and eager to learn about her mother, Sam invites Bonnie to her apartment for dinner. Bonnie accepts and promises to tell Sam everything about Sarah and the Butcher.

Matt struggles to process the discovery that his grandfather is the Beacon Hill Butcher. He begins drinking heavily as images of the video replay in his mind. He considers confronting Edward or going to the police but realizes that the resulting scandal would destroy his restaurant, food trucks, and the Fresh Network deal.

Late one night, Edward unexpectedly arrives at the house using his key. The two men drink whiskey together, and Matt, drunk and barely containing his revulsion, asks why Edward committed the murders. Edward compares killing to eating—both driven by hunger and necessity—and dismisses his victims as society’s dregs. He tells Matt that he wanted him to find the crate because he needs someone to know his secrets, but Matt should make his own decision about what to do. Matt demands that Edward remove the crate, and Edward agrees before leaving. Matt continues drinking, hoping the nightmare will disappear by morning.