Parents

In the late 1950s, married Nick and Lily Laemle and their ten year old son Michael have just moved across the country to suburban California for Nick's job as a research scientist at Toxico. Outwardly, Nick and Lily are like any 1950s middle class suburban couple, such as having bridge nights with Nick's boss and his wife, the Zellners, arguably in a move for upward mobility. The person having the hardest time with the move is introverted Michael, who, in already having a tough time making friends, is befriended by one person, the Zellners' take charge daughter, Sheila. Michael being prone to bloody nightmares and daytime fantasies is exacerbated by Sheila's own fantasies of her life. What arguably affects Michael more than anything is waking up in the middle of the night to see his parents together. That and other things he witnesses, he often hiding in dark corners to gain evidence of such, increasingly makes him believe that his parents are not only cannibals but that they are trying to make him into one in the "mystery meat" Lily prepares for their meals which she always passes off as leftovers. Things are only complicated when Michael's bizarre thoughts come to the attention of his teacher, Miss Baxter, who passes her concerns to the school's social worker Millie Dew, who feels the need to get to the bottom of Michael's thoughts.