With a rifle on his back, Dexter runs through a snowy forest. He sees a white stag and aims but does not shoot. The stag runs away.

Dexter does some chores -- chops firewood, scrapes the snow off his windshield, feeds his animals, checks the lure on his ice-fishing hole, and marks off his calendar.

Deb, a vision of his dead sister, is in the kitchen. They banter as Dexter pours himself coffee and cereal. 

Dexter sharpens a set of knives.

Dexter drives his truck into town. A police car follows him. He pulls over. The officer asks for his license and registration, which he provides (he's "James Lindsay" now.) She asks him to step out of the vehicle. She pats him down, and they start making out.

Dexter and Angela, the police chief, have sex in the car. She gets a call from Esther, the dispatcher, about some loose sheep. Angela tries to ignore it, but the other officers are busy, and she must answer the call of duty. 

In town, Dexter says hello to some of the locals. He sees a helicopter fly over. Ramon informs him that this is Edward Olson, a millionaire heading up to his chalet. Dexter drops off the sharpened knives to the butcher, picks up some baked goods, and heads to work at Fred's Fish and Game. His boss, Fred Jr., tells him that he and his partner are adopting a puppy this week.

Two customers come in. It's Matt Caldwell and his friend Bill. Matt wants a hunting knife and a large gun. Dexter shows him a knife, and Matt waves it around, threatening in a goofy way. Dexter suggests rifles, but Matt says he wants one that's bigger and better than Bill's. He points out the most expensive one in the shop. He decides to purchase it. Dexter asks for his ID for the federal background check. Matt points out a photo of himself on the wall. Matt's gun purchase is placed on hold. 

Dexter tells Matt to come back in 24 hours. Matt is insulted, insisting he should get the gun now. Dexter refuses him. Matt purchases the knife and scares Bill with it. The two men leave the shop.

Later that day, Dexter visits the police station. Esther has already heard about Matt's red flag. Angela is in a meeting, so Dexter helps Logan with the pies. Esther asks Logan about Matt, citing a boat crash he was involved in where five people died. Logan believes it was an accident.

Angela emerges from her meeting. She is dealing with several missing women's cases, but there will be no funding until a body turns up. They confirm their line-dancing date for the evening. 

Angela and Dexter show up at the tavern, where everyone is line dancing. Dexter orders, only to be told that Matt Caldwell is buying for everyone. Matt, drunk, recognizes "Jim" and cheers. Dexter declines Matt's generosity.

Angela remarks on Matt's drunkenness, also lamenting that the FBI flags often get cleared automatically, leaving potential dangers to fall through the cracks. Dexter and Angela join in the dancing.

A mysterious young man gets off a truck and heads into town. 

Matt approaches Dexter, inviting him to a party and asking for the gun to be given to him this evening. Dexter tells him he can come in the morning. Matt notices that Dexter's girlfriend is a cop and suggests that he come to the party alone.

A young woman tries to buy the cheapest thing on the menu. Angela notices and offers to pay for her meal. The young woman is grateful, saying she intends to leave first thing in the morning. Angela gives her a little extra money and points out Desiree, who runs a local shelter.  

Angela gets a notification on her phone -- her "smart doorbell" app shows her daughter bringing too many friends over to the house. Angela kisses Dexter goodbye and leaves. Alone, Dexter steps outside and heads to his truck. The mysterious young man watches from a distance.

In the morning, Dexter runs through the snow forest again. He spots the white stag again and aims but does not shoot. Dexter sees a dark figure in the woods and pursues, finding only footprints.

Dexter makes himself breakfast. The vision of Deb tells him to maintain his routine and not let Matt get to him. 

Dexter gets to work, opening up the shop. He checks the hold on Matt's purchase -- it's still processing. After helping some customers, Dexter heads to the tavern for lunch only to find a protest happening outside it. Two men stand guard at the tavern door. Angela comes out, explaining to Dexter that they are protesting Edward Olson, the oil tycoon. Angela finds her daughter Audrey among the protestors.

Olson emerges and hands out hot cocoa to the protestors. He praises their activist spirit. Audrey dumps out her cocoa in front of him. 

The mysterious young man watches from across the street. Dexter notices him.

Back at work, Fred Jr. informs Dexter that Matt has been cleared and wants the gun dropped off personally. Dexter is comfortable delivering, but Fred Jr. insists, saying he's got to pick up his new puppy. Dexter reluctantly agrees to take the gun to Matt.

Dexter arrives at the party with the gun. A very stoned Bill greets him. Bill takes Dexter upstairs, and they walk in on Matt having sex. Bill apologizes and closes the door. Bill takes Dexter to the bathroom, where he does some lines of cocaine. Dexter declines. Bill tells him that he brought the girl Matt is having sex with. Bill points out the dick-shaped scar on his face. Bill starts talking about the boat accident, how Matt was drunk and deliberately steered into the other boat, causing those deaths. Bill had just covered for him. Bill swears Dexter to secrecy about his confession.

Matt and the girl, Becca, finish. Becca asks Dexter not to tell her dad, and she runs off. Dexter gets Matt to sign for the rifle and hands it over. Matt takes the rifle and points it at Dexter. Dexter imagines grabbing the gun and hitting Matt with it, but he does nothing and leaves.

Dexter returns home and sees a figure in the window. He grabs an ax and enters, approaching the figure. It's the mysterious young man who asks if his name is Dexter Morgan. He introduces himself as Harrison. Dexter is moved, but the vision of Deb appears, telling him not to give up the game, citing all the people who have died because of him. Dexter plays the fool, stating that he is not Dexter but James Lindsay. He gives Harrison some money, tells him about the town shelter, and shows him out. Dexter finds an old photo of him and Harrison. He watches Harrison walk away. Dexter burns the photo.

Dexter dreams of Deb being pulled into his fishing hole by a dark figure. In bed, she assures him that she's glad she was the one who died first.

In the morning, Dexter chases the white stag through the snowy forest. Again he aims but does not shoot. Slowly, he approaches it. He holds out his hand and stands in stillness and silence with the animal, looking in its eyes. 

A shot hits the stag in the neck, and the animal falls. Matt Caldwell appears, triumphant over his kill. Dexter slams Matt in the face with the butt of his shotgun, knocking him unconscious. He cuts the stag's throat with Matt's knife and then puts the knife back on Matt. 

Dexter sets up his kill room in his shed, with Matt taped down lying flat on the table. Dexter slices Matt's cheek and takes a "slide" of blood. Matt wakes, confused, and Dexter confirms that he is a serial killer. Dexter forces Matt to admit that he was responsible for the deaths in the boat accident. Dexter is angry about the deer. Matt swears he will never hurt anyone again. Dexter readies his knife. Matt pleads for his life, stating that he had a difficult childhood. Dexter says the same, remembering Harry. Matt begs for his life again, proclaiming that his father will make Dexter's life difficult once he finds out. Dexter kills him anyway.

Dexter gets a phone call from Angela, asking if he'll be meeting her at the Christmas tree festival, but he lies and tells her a fox got in the henhouse. He chops up Matt's body and puts it into garbage bags. 

Dexter drives to the bus depot and finds Harrison. He tells Harrison that he is Dexter, his father, and asks him to come home. They return to Dexter's place together, not noticing the drops of blood on the snow outside.