Ethan lives in Chicago with his pregnant wife Hannah and his mother-in-law Alison. To ensure his parents could enjoy a comfortable life, he returned to his family farm in Iowa to bring his father Frank and mother Martha to the city. On the way, Hannah deliberately staged a fake car accident and claimed she was having abdominal pain. In his panic, Ethan locked his parents in the sweltering pickup truck while he accompanied Hannah to the hospital in an ambulance. For the next five hours, the elderly couple were trapped in the vehicle. The air conditioning failed, their water supply ran out, and Frank’s heart medication ran out. Martha called Ethan repeatedly for help, but Alison berated her with harsh words, and Hannah hung up and turned off her phone. Frank suffered a heart attack, and Martha smashed the window to call for help to no avail; Frank stopped breathing in the sweltering heat.
Ethan stayed at the hospital with Hannah, who was unharmed. He repeatedly postponed picking up his parents, citing excuses such as his mother-in-law’s objections, searching for Hannah’s lost pearl earrings, and accompanying his father-in-law to a business dinner to secure investment. Martha handled her husband’s funeral arrangements alone. While holding his urn, she was chased out of a restaurant by the manager. In her despair, she attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills but survived. At the hospital, Ethan overheard a conversation between Hannah and her daughter and was shocked to learn that the car accident had been a deliberate test—one that cost his father his life. Enraged, Ethan filed for divorce, and Hannah’s emotional distress led to a miscarriage.
In the end, Ethan and his mother return to the farm. Kneeling before his father’s grave, he repents and vows to devote the rest of his life to caring for his mother. Under the old oak tree, mother and son bid farewell to Frank’s ghost. A gentle breeze sweeps through the cornfield, symbolizing how this broken family has rediscovered the true essence of family bonds amidst tragedy.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
