Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault, domestic violence, murder, child endangerment, miscarriage, and gun use.

Abby Morris jogs down rural Iowa roads between 9:30 and 10:30 pm. She overhears a feminine voice calling for a lost dog and notices a pickup truck parked on the side of the road. She grows uneasy and runs home after noticing a man in a baseball cap sitting in the truck. At 12:05 am, Sheriff John Butler surveys his street and reflects on the lack of “action” (11) occurring in the last week until his wife calls him back inside. At 1:09 am, Deb Cutter wakes up to the sound of what she assumes is kids lighting off firecrackers. She notices her husband, Randy, and son, Brock, are both absent; she grapples with her son’s recent misbehavior and her husband’s increasing obsession with acquiring land. Recently, Randy has been enthralled with fixing up a farm property he has purchased. At 1:10 am, Josie Doyle and Becky Allen flee a figure who is chasing them across Josie’s farm. Becky falls, and though Josie is shot in the arm, she manages to flee into the cornfield.