Parker Posey stars as Victoria Ratliff, a wealthy woman from Durham, North Carolina vacationing with her husband Timothy and their three children. Victoria is unaware of a brewing scandal involving her husband’s business dealings. Victoria exhibits a strong sense of superiority and elitism.
She dismisses actress Jaclyn, saying “actresses are basically prostitutes.” Victoria also warns her children to avoid unknown people because they are rich and beautiful, while “most people don’t have good values.”
Despite Victoria’s pride in her insularity, her sons Saxon and Lochlan exhibit strange behaviors, fixating on each other excessively. Lochlan’s reaction to Saxon’s comments about their sister Piper’s virginity comes off as disturbingly curious rather than protective.
paradise crumbling for the Ratliffs
Meanwhile, Victoria’s husband Timothy spirals as he connects with a professional contact named Kenny, played by Ke Huy Quan. Kenny reveals that Timothy is implicated in an embezzlement scheme that has come to light. “They have everything,” Kenny tells Timothy, who realizes he’s in deep trouble.
Timothy is distressed, considering the deal yielded “only $10 million” — a paltry sum compared to his vast wealth. As tensions escalate, viewers are left anticipating the next revelations for the Ratliff family in this luxurious yet decaying paradise. Victoria remains self-medicating and unaware of her husband’s mounting problems that threaten to upend their privileged existence.
