In an Arizona community during the Civil War, a young Native American woman, Abanaki, is falsely accused of witchcraft and forced out into the desert to die.

Decades later, college student Patrick and his younger brother Russell are spending the summer with their widowed mother Michelle at the site of the former community, which they are renovating into a movie ranch tourist attraction.

Michelle has recently gone blind, and her propensity for superstitious fantasies perturbs Andrew, the brother of her deceased husband who is protective of the property.

Patrick recounts to Jennifer the origins of the town, including a tale of how a corrupt preacher stole gold from the Native Americans and hid the treasure in the Superstition Mountains.

Andrew departs in the middle of the night by boat along a river that winds into the mountains to meet with Prosperina, a Native American seer, to seek guidance.

[2] According to writer-director De Gaetano, budgeting issues necessitated that portions of the script be un-filmed, resulting in "a good deal of the philosophical depth of the film" disappearing.