Adapted from the 1930 classic American novel by William Faulkner, the story chronicles the Bundren family as they navigate the Mississippi countryside to bring the body of their deceased mother, Addie, to her hometown for burial. Addie's husband, Anse (Tim Blake Nelson), and their children, Cash (Jim Parrack), Darl (James Franco), Jewel (Logan Marshall-Green), Dewey Dell (Ahna O'Reilly), and Vardaman (Brady Permenter), leave the farm on a carriage with her coffin—each affected by Addie's death in profound and different ways. Along their journey, the family must contend with flooded rivers, injury, a barn fire, and their own personal turmoil.