Alfred and Maude have chosen today to die. Maude is fatigued by her sadness. Alfred holds a secret that has isolated him from any human interaction and his only way out is death. They have instructed their family to be with them on this evening. The family has no idea why they have been commanded to attend. The atmosphere between Alfred and his son, James, is tense and hateful. This is the most apparent damage Alfred's secret has caused. The family is anxious to learn why they have been summoned but Alfred will not reveal the reason.

That inscrutability adds to the family's frustration and intensifies the animosity. As the anger builds, an armed man covered in tattoos takes them hostage. For the family, it is a frightening event. For Maude and Alfred, this Tattooed Man is their appointment with Death who has come to assist them in their suicide. Once that plan is revealed, Alfred is forced to disclose his secret. It is a horrible secret, but having been exposed, the pain and anger and sorrow of the past forty years are diminished without the mystery that has fueled them. For nothing is as devastating as secrets and the walls they force one to build to guard those secrets.