Hannah and Fanny's father once callously abandoned his family, which is why Hannah, at least, has little desire to rush to the funeral after their mother Martha announces the old man's death on an island in the south. But pregnant Fanny is determined to pay her last respects, and Hannah allows herself to be persuaded. She quickly regrets this, because for some reason (which could well have something to do with her father), the dead rise from their graves on the island and harass the living.
