Near the Gulf Coast of Texas, in the early morning of 24 December 1902, elderly plantation owner Soll Gautier hunts escaped convict laborer Leroy Kendricks, for the murder of a coworker. The commotion wakes Soll’s adolescent employee, Horace Robedaux, who wonders aloud if the convict survived the chase. Later that day, Soll’s niece, Asa, and her husband, Billy, visit the plantation with the intention of taking Horace home for Christmas. Elsewhere on the plantation, Horace watches as servant Ben Johnson digs a grave for the murder victim. Ben’s wife, Martha, notifies Horace of Asa and Billy’s plans, but the boy is reluctant to leave, anticipating the $12.50 he is owed for six months of labor. Martha doubts that Soll will ever pay Horace, evidenced by the old man’s history of broken promises. However, Horace is willing to risk disappointment, as he needs the money to buy a headstone for his father’s grave. Ben Johnson hands Horace a rifle, telling him to guard Leroy Kendricks until the sheriff arrives. Horace shares his chewing tobacco with Leroy, who states his preference for death over continued imprisonment. While Horace prays over the victim’s unmarked grave, Leroy is arrested by the sheriff and shot to death. Soll orders Horace to wash the body, but Martha interrupts to apprise her employer of his debt to the boy. Plagued by dementia and alcoholism, Soll needs constant reminding of the boy’s identity. Convict trustee Jackson Hall informs Soll that Sherman Edwards, half-brother of the murder victim, is too sick to work. Soll denies Jackson’s request for clemency and orders Sherman to the cane fields, where the convict dies of exhaustion. While talking to Horace, Soll recalls the boy’s late father, attorney to the old man’s estranged brother, Ty. Soll claims Ty and Asa want control of his estate, and he dictates his will to Horace, disinheriting both. Meanwhile, Asa is unconscious on the living room couch, while her husband, Billy, wanders the grounds in a drunken stupor. Elsewhere on the plantation, Soll imagines seeing a bear, followed by several escaped convicts, and fires his rifle. After Jackson Hall and Ben Johnson escort their drunken employer to the house, Asa regains consciousness and invites Soll to dinner. He declines, and after an exchange of insults, Soll threatens to leave his estate to Ben and Martha Johnson. Asa ignores the threat, saying she is satisfied with her wealth and wants nothing from him. That evening, Asa returns home with Billy, who remains unconscious through dinner. Soll expects to die during the night, and summons Jackson and Horace to his bedroom. He asks Horace to stay with him until he is inside his coffin, fearing wild animals will ravage his corpse. When Soll asks why Jackson was imprisoned, the trustee recounts his revenge killing of the man who clubbed his brother to death. After working on the plantation for fifteen years, Jackson was paroled to Soll’s custody, assigned to guard the old man after an escaped convict was found hiding in the bedroom closet. Certain that another intruder is inside the closet, Soll fires three shots. He orders Jackson to remove the body, and the trustee humors him. Soll then tells Jackson to put the convicts to work building his coffin. When Jackson returns, Soll instructs him to clean the imaginary pool of blood left by the dead convict. Soll shows Horace an empty picture frame, claiming it contains a portrait of his deceased mother. He recalls his father’s advice to replace his tenant farmers with convict labor, and how the land had once been dense forest. Hearing Jackson sing as he works, Soll requests “Golden Slippers,” but the trustee forgets most of the lyrics. Moments later, the coffin is delivered. Soll dons his Confederate Army coat, lays in the coffin, and falls into a deep sleep, which Jackson and Ben mistake for death. Within seconds, Soll awakens, declaring he will outlive everyone on the plantation. While Ben and Jackson remove the coffin, Soll instructs Horace to retrieve a suitcase, which supposedly contains $10,000, promising the boy half of the money. When he realizes the suitcase is empty, Soll remembers burying the money in a convict’s grave, although he has forgotten which one. Soll asks Horace to read to him from from an 1865 newspaper, and tells the boy to not bury him in the family cemetery with his estranged brother. Within seconds, Soll is dead. Horace keeps his promise to remain with the body until it is inside the coffin. In the morning, Ben informs Asa of her uncle’s death, but she is “too drunk to care.” Afterward, Ben, Martha, Jackson, and Horace bury Soll in the convicts’ graveyard. Horace is denied his wages, Jackson expects to return to prison, and Ben predicts that the plantation will fall into disrepair. As a final tribute to Soll, Jackson sings “Golden Slippers.”