In a town where secrets are kept hidden no matter the cost, elderly widow Mae Reese discovers that her house seems to be growing "dirt." No matter how hard she scrubs, scours, mops, and cleans, the "dirt" is everywhere, consuming her once immaculate home. Over time, she begins to see the connection between this mysterious onslaught of filth, and the long-ago murder of teenager Betsy Palmer, and learns that even the dead can exact revenge.