On her 18th birthday, India Stoker, a girl with a strong acuteness of the senses, is left with her unstable mother Evelyn after her loving father Richard dies in a car crash. At Richard's funeral, Evelyn and India are introduced to Richard's charismatic younger brother Charlie, who has spent his life traveling the world. India, who did not know Charlie existed, is perturbed by his presence. He announces that he is staying indefinitely to help support India and Evelyn, to Evelyn's delight and India's chagrin. India witnesses Charlie argue with Mrs. McGarrick, the head caretaker of the house. Mrs. McGarrick complains to Charlie that she has been his "eyes and ears" since he was a boy. Mrs. McGarrick then disappears. Charlie and Evelyn grow close while India continues to rebuff his attempts to befriend her. India's great-aunt Gwendolyn visits the family, to Evelyn and Charlie's dismay. Gwendolyn shows surprise at Charlie's claims of traveling the world and tells Evelyn that she needs to talk to her about Charlie. Gwendolyn changes hotels due to an unexplained fear and suspicion of Charlie. She loses her cell phone and tries to call the Stokers' home from a phone booth, but Charlie arrives and strangles her to death with his belt. Meanwhile, India discovers Mrs. McGarrick's body in the freezer and realizes Charlie is a murderer. At school, India stabs a bully, Chris Pitts, in the hand with a pencil after he tries to land a punch to her head. This draws the attention of another classmate, Whip Taylor. One night, after witnessing Evelyn and Charlie kiss, India wanders off to a local diner where she runs into Whip. She and Whip go into the woods, and as they make out, India bites his tongue. Whip attempts to rape India before Charlie intervenes and breaks Whip's neck with his belt while Whip's body lies on top of India. India aids Charlie in burying the body in her garden. She attempts to call Gwendolyn, but hears her phone ring in the garden, realizing Charlie killed her too. While showering, India masturbates to the memory of the murder, climaxing as she remembers Charlie breaking Whip's neck. While going through Richard's office, India discovers that a key she received as a birthday present belongs to a locked drawer of Richard's desk. Inside, she finds dozens of letters Charlie wrote to her over the years, which detail his travels and his love for his niece, although they have never met. However, she sees that the sending address is a
mental institution. She confronts Charlie, who explains the truth: Charlie killed his and Richard's younger brother Jonathan as a child by burying him alive in a sandbox because he was jealous that Richard paid more attention to him. He was then put in a mental institution. When released on India's 18th birthday, Richard gave Charlie a car, money, and an apartment in New York City on the condition that he stay away from Richard's family. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Charlie bludgeoned Richard to death with a rock and staged the car accident. India is shocked and angered. Charlie gives her a birthday present, a pair of
stiletto heels, to replace her more childish
saddle shoes. When Sheriff Howard stops by to question India about Whip's disappearance, Charlie provides an alibi for her. Shortly after India agrees to leave for New York with Charlie, Evelyn witnesses them together. That night, Evelyn coldly expresses her desire to watch India suffer before confronting Charlie, implying that she knows the truth about Richard's death and Charlie's institutionalization. Charlie seduces Evelyn and then attempts to strangle her with a belt, but India fatally shoots him with her rifle. The next morning, India buries Charlie's body in the backyard, then leaves for New York in his car. She is pulled over for speeding by Sheriff Howard, who asks her why she is in a hurry. She replies that she wanted to catch his attention, before stabbing him in the neck with a pair of
pruning shears. She pursues the bleeding sheriff into a field and shoots him with her rifle. ==Cast==