At first, the Benders appear to be an ordinary homesteading family in rural Kansas in the late 19th century. Kate gathers ears of corn while her brother, John Jr., chops wood. Down in the cellar, however, their parents, Elvira and John, Sr. are anything but normal. John Sr. chops up a corpse while Elvira goes through the victim’s bag. They’re killers, using their daughter’s beauty to lure victims, after which she slits their throats. Then, the cellar is the graveyard. Nevertheless, Kate and John Jr. are apparently obedient children who conform to their parents’ homicidal wishes. When a brother of their latest victim shows up on horseback asking questions, she tries unsuccessfully to lure him into the house with flirtation and a fake name. Afterward, she schemes the next move with her parents over the dinner table. At the same time, the family emphasizes good manners and adherence to Christian values, despite conspiring to murder another innocent person with the intention of dismembering and burying them. John Sr. and Elvira order Kate to lure another victim to the house, after which they intend to flee their homestead, with the children going a different direction than their parents. Kate saddles a horse, seeming to obey her parents’ wishes, but instead she rides to Dodge City and buys a train ticket for Los Angeles.