The film opens with a man driving a circus trailer down a silent road. He meets up with another man, John Gaveneau (Garret Dillahunt), and it is revealed that he is attempting to purchase a bengal tiger for the creation of a "Safari Ranch". Initially not believing the tiger looks dangerous or exciting enough, the seller tells him a gruesome story and claims that the tiger is evil. Later, his stepdaughter, Kelly (Briana Evigan), with her autistic brother, Tom (Charlie Tahan), whom she has taken to a special hospital in order for him to get the care he needs while she is at college. However, Kelly's check is rejected and when she phones her bank she is informed that John withdrew all the money and closed the account.
Bringing the tiger home John instructs his workers, illegal immigrants, to board up the house against the coming hurricane. As the windows are secured Kelly confronts John and begs him to give her the remainder of the money, but he reveals that he spent it on a tiger and there isn't anything left. Kelly is angry at him, telling him that her mother (who committed suicide by taking an overdose of pills) wanted the money to go to Tom and Kelly. However, there was no official will, so John just took the funds for himself. Upset, Kelly calls her college professor and asked to defer her start at college until the second semester, citing family issues, but is revealed that she is on a scholarship and has already deferred twice, and although her professor has sympathy for her, he tells her that if she does not start college that semester, he will give the scholarship money to someone else.
After sending Tom to bed, she undresses and goes to bed as well, dreaming of suffocating Tom so she wouldn't have to take care of him anymore. While she sleeps, the front door is opened, and an unknown person releases the tiger into the house. Waking, Kelly goes downstairs to the kitchen for a drink, finding a note from John claiming that he has gone to the store. Returning upstairs, she hears sounds in the house and as she decides to investigate, she sees the tiger cross the foyer beneath her.