Fifteen-year-old Trey Reddy hauls a broken chair down the mountain in oppressive July heat, accompanied by her dog Banjo. She intends to take the chair to Cal Hooper, the American ex-cop who lives near the village of Ardnakelty, with whom she repairs and sells furniture. She stops home first for lunch, preferring to keep her boundaries despite wishing she could live at Cal's peaceful cottage rather than her chaotic, sagging family home.

Stepping inside, Trey finds her father, Johnny Reddy, returned after four years away. He sits between her younger siblings on the sofa, charming and complimentary, while her mother Sheila sits stiffly, looking out of place in her own home. Trey responds curtly to Johnny's teasing, grabs a sandwich, and leaves with the chair for Cal's house.

At Cal's, the two begin restoring the chair. Cal, attuned to Trey's silences, senses something is wrong. Trey eventually tells him her father has come home and asks to stay the night. Cal refuses, reasoning he shouldn't antagonize Johnny, but texts Lena Dunne, who agrees to host Trey. Cal is privately shaken; Johnny's return was a fear he hadn't anticipated.

Meanwhile, Lena is hanging laundry when Johnny appears at her gate, flirting and inviting her for a walk. Lena, who knew Johnny in their youth and watched him derail her friend Sheila's life, rebuffs him coolly. Watching him leave, she notes his uncharacteristically unkempt hair and concludes he has come home in a hurry, likely with trouble close behind.

That night, Trey arrives at Lena's with a rabbit she shot as a hostess gift. They make up the spare bed, and Lena gently advises Trey to go home the next day to see what she's dealing with. Trey lies awake, recognizing a familiar wariness she hasn't felt since Cal and Lena entered her life two years ago, and knowing she liked her life better as it was that morning.