Tom Brothers, widower, owns a hardscrabble cattle ranch in the foothills of Wyoming. The land controls Tom’s life, taking all he can give, offering little in return. THE DEER MOUSE follows him for ten culled days through the seasons of the year, as he and his son, TJ, struggle to make ends meet. Old Tom, sulky and brooding, and TJ, insecure, are constantly at each other in a sullen, running battle, neither one conscious of how their lives unfold in remarkably parallel ways, nor able to bring themselves to trust one another. Both want desperately to know that what they have given, and what they’ve lost, is worth something in the end. Their ruptured relationship profoundly affects the rest of the extended family in this rural isolation, and these wounds are further aggravated by the intrusion of Frank, a recently-hired man, who comes between TJ and his wife, Karen.