In Los Angeles, psychologist Wendy Brown witnessed her abusive brother-in-law beat up her sister, who eventually died from her injuries. During that incident, Wendy shot him dead in self-defense. To get away from that nightmare, she has moved to the small town of Corinth, Oregon, located in an emerging ski area. In Corinth, she has temporarily opened up her home, which she calls Comfort House, as a refuge for battered women, while she builds a more permanent Comfort House on her acreage. She has found that there is a culture of wife beating in Corinth, especially among the hyper-masculine hunting crowd. The police do nothing about reports of abuse as the sheriff, "Bear" Trapp, is included within that hunting crowd, his friends who are among the accused wife beaters, most of that crowd`s wives who are currently residing at Comfort House.