A very pregnant Francesca Kinsolving travels from Los Angeles to Minnesota to meet her late husband's mother, Mrs. Kinsolving, whom she has never met before. Mrs. Kinsolving is cold to Francesca, questions whether she is actually pregnant with her son's baby, and tells Francesca she wants nothing to do with her, or her baby, in the future. It soon becomes clear that Francesca cannot leave that night, as a blizzard has made the roads impassable. Francesca is forced to stay in the Kinsolving mansion for a few days. She soon begins to suspect that something is amiss, due to inconsistencies in information between what her late husband, Matthew, told her and Mrs. Kinsolving's statements to her.