Big Jim Collins dies, and his family rejoices. After decades of abuse, his wife and sons are finally free from his tyranny. One son follows in his father's footsteps, while the other son takes a different path. But the brothers never really escape their painful childhood. It defines each of them and leads them to a final, terrifying destiny. Death comes again at the Collins farm on a quiet, starless October night. Both brothers will pay for the sins of their father in the shadow of the bleeding tree.