Six-year-old Jacob Thompson is not supposed to be home this Friday afternoon; he should be spending the night with a friend. Instead, his drunken father takes him hunting, during which Jacob witnesses his father's death-an event that for years afterward Jacob believes was an accidental shooting.
Only two people know the truth about Fred's death. Shelly Thompson is tired of her husband's physical abuse and fears for her children's safety. She feels trapped and, with the help of her new love, Scott MacKinnon, plots to murder her husband.
Jacob's youth is tormented by nightmares about watching his father die. When he recedes into a depression after a tragic event, he seeks psychiatric help and begins to explore his memories via hypnosis. Guilt and fear block Shelly from telling Jacob what his father was really like and how he died. As a young man, Jacob finally discovers the awful truth about his father's death. His family's future now relies on whether he responds with understanding-or more violence.
