An alarm blares as Jae exits a door and runs onto the roof of a building. On the building next to it, the alarm also rings out as Ricky runs onto that roof. Ricky carries a satellite phone and Jae tells him to toss it across to him. Ricky is hesitant because the buildings are too far apart. Jae demands he throw it anyway, so Ricky gets as close to he can while Jae moves onto the platform at the top of a staircase, getting him closer. Jae looks around, hesitates and throws the phone. Jae reaches out to catch it when an English mastiff, Maximilian, rushes up the stairs and bites off Jae's hand.
Bessie Bastos flies a helicopter across the ocean towards Kopek Island. It's a small island with two science buildings and a barracks. Beyond that is an artificial forest. Several employees wait on the helipad and others mill about the complex.
Bastos hands a sat phone to Sen. Dougal MacDonald, telling him it's the direct line to her in an emergency. Otherwise, she'll be back at the same time tomorrow. She gives him the phone because he's the highest-ranking person on board, which tweaks two-star General Lannister. Behind Lannister are four soldiers: Smith, Johnson, Major and Hatos. Hatos said he heard that Sen. MacDonald's father might be the Cleveland Torso Murderer.
Across from Major is Paisley Ford Jr., a transgender woman who works for the senator. She officially denies the senator has any connection to any serial killers. next to Paisley is Dallas Sackler the Fifth, who also works for the senator. Paisley says she was named after Prince. Lannister asks MacDonald about Paisley and the senator calls her a diversity hire.
Bastos sets the helicopter down and everyone gets out. There to meet them is the manager of the facility, Sean Miscavige. The helicopter leaves and Miscavige immediately starts sucking up to the senator. He tries to cozy up with the senator, but he isn't interested. Miscavige salutes the general, but he's not in the military. He shakes hands with each of the soldiers.
Miscavige thanks them all for coming and then complains about the presence of armed military on HIS island. He says the men and guns aren't necessary. The general makes fun of him and the soldiers laugh. Miscavige leads them towards one of the science buildings. MacDonald gives the sat phone to Paisley. Miscavige tells them Trump started the program, but it was Dr. Huang's idea to inject the dogs with a serum. The serum makes them bigger and more aggressive. And maybe more than that. The general is finally interested. He asks if the injected dogs will do well in warmer climates. Miscavige says they will. MacDonald doesn't understand the whole conversation.
At the front of Science Building A, security guard Joshuah Cash lets them in. Ricky and three men and a woman in lab coats stand inside, next to Sweet Pea, an oversized Afghan Hound. The doctors are Jae, LeBron "Davis" and possible Aryan twins, Andre and Andrea Friedrichs. LeBron is here as part of an agreement with his organization and the Friedrichs are here because they can't find work elsewhere. Miscavige introduces Ricky as the lead dog trainer, but he can't pronounce Ricky's last name.
Jae rudely interrupts Ricky and says it's time for Sweet Pea do tricks. The dog isn't just large, she has muscles that are enhanced, like Captain America. Ricky treats the dog with care, but Jae and the general don't care and are impatient. Ricky asks the dog to identify the general, which she does easily. Sen. MacDonald is impressed. LeBron and Cash put out a 40" sawhorse and Sweet Pea jumps over it from almost a standing position. The general isn't impressed. Miscavige pulls out a gun and fires it at the dog four times. Sweet Pea dodges them all easily. Everyone's impressed now and Miscavige leads them inside to continue the tour.
LeBron and Ricky comfort Sweet Pea while Andre and Andrea find the violence fun. LeBron takes the dog back inside and Ricky catches up to Miscavige.
Flashback to Ricky's home 20 years into the past: The Leung house is an All-American house covered in Christmas decorations. Inside, the house is VERY stereotypically American. Despite the Chinese-American family within, there's is nothing remotely Chinese visible in the house.
The family sits around the Christmas tree and young Ricky has gotten a TON of presents. He's a big fan of Ken Griffey Jr. and he got lots of related presents, from an autographed poster to bats, balls, etc. Other presents include a bike and a PlayStation. Finally, his parents brings out his last gift, a German Shepherd puppy. The puppy's name is Klaus and it's Ricky's favorite present.
Later, Ricky and Klaus run across the grass. They get tangled up and Ricky falls on top of Klaus, breaking the dog's leg. They go to the vet, Gordon Sanford, and he puts a splint on Klaus' leg. Ricky is fascinated with the work Dr. Sanford does.
Back in the present, Miscavige has lined up his support staff in a military formation in military-style uniforms. He looks around, but frowns when he doesn't see what he's looking for. Lannister asks which branch of the military they are, but Miscavige ignores him.
Karen Huang arrives and Miscavige introduces her as his chief of staff. She introduces the general and senator to the support staff. Ricky finally arrives. Karen introduces senior secretary Cat Binks, head of custodial services Flynn Reed, custodians Grady and Lamont and head of the grounds crew, Jerry Oteri. Miscavige impatiently leads the VIPs away and Karen tells everyone to get back to work. Ricky addresses her formally and asks her to hang back for a few moments. Everyone else leaves.
Karen tells Ricky that the serum has some new ingredients. She tells him that the serum doesn't just make them more angry and aggressive, it makes them racist towards dark-skinned people. Miscavige calls for Ricky to get to the kennel and goes to leave. Before he does, though, he and Karen kiss.
The kennel room is filled with cages that contain dogs of various breeds. Miscavige tells Jae to introduce the dogs by name, which Jae is reluctant to do, as he thinks it's stupid. Ricky and Karen arrive as he introduces Sweet Pea, the dog they met outside. Jae reiterates that he did not choose the names when he introduces Zarqualis Ian Peppers, aka Zip or Zippy, a Caucasian shepherd; Cort the St. Bernard; Aphrodite the Great Dane; Fritz a Newfoundland; Maximilian or Max the Mastiff; Dogue de Bordeaux whose breed is also Dogue de Bordeaux; Cressida the Cane Corso; Leon the Leonberger; and Shoshana Rose a Doberman puppy. Other than Shoshana each of the grown-up dogs has clearly been augmented and is muscular and ferocious.
When Shoshana is introduced, Lannister makes it clear that he doesn't like "the black ones." MacDonald asks if they experiment on puppies. Jae responds that they do not give the serum to the smallest puppies. It's not clear if Shoshana qualifies as one of "the smallest puppies."
Flashback to teenage Ricky playing baseball. He is pitching today for a team sponsored by Dr. Sanford's Pet Hospital. Ricky strikes the batter out, tying a league record Ricky set on Tuesday. Ricky strikes out the next guy to set a new record and give his team the 3-0 win.
After the game, Ricky talks to Dr. Sanford, who asks Ricky to work for him as an intern this summer. Ricky was going to go to baseball camp, but agrees to work at the pet hospital instead. Later that summer, Ricky is at work in the pet hospital. Ricky assists with surgery in a very minor way, but he's fully fascinated by veterinary medicine.
In the present, Miscavige leads the group out of the kennel. Once he's alone, Jae opens Max's cage. He doesn't notice that Sweet Pea watches him. Ricky almost walks back into the room, but stops short. Jae abusively takes Max out of his cage. Ricky is shocked. Jae opens a panel in Max's cage and pulls out a flash drive. He puts Max back in his cage and Ricky hurries away. Jae goes to a computer and sends a message that says "I have it." Sweet Pea stares at the keypad Jae used to open Max's cage. She remembers the code that Jae used.
Everyone but the VIPs is hanging out in the cafeteria, including various employees we haven't seen before. It's a party atmosphere with music, drinks and food. Ricky stops at the bar to get a drink from Cat Binks. They take a shot and Ricky gets a beer. Cat teases him about his "lady," but he says she doesn't have one. Cat doesn't buy it and Ricky breaks. She warns him to be careful and he walks away.
Nearby, Grady and Lamont drink beers while Johnson drinks whiskey. He tries to make small talk with the working men, but they're laughing at him, not with him. They question his job for the general, which is a protection detail. Grady and Lamont think it's funny that Johnson "protects" the general. They make fun of him for being an errand boy. Lamont asks what Johnson's mother thinks about his job and Johnson finally gets offended. Grady and Lamont back down, laughing at Johnson as they walk away.
Major tells Johnson to shake it off and he does shots with the other soldiers, ll of whom think the general is a joke.
Paisley tells Hatos and LeBron that she's named after Prince. LeBron get's really excited, but Hatos is lost. LeBron asks how she ended up working for the senator. She confides in him that she's working for the senator so she can get her foot in the door and then run for office herself. She's got a plan. LeBron likes it.
Ricky sneaks out the back door. Moments later, Karen does, too. They think no one notices, but Cash does. He remarks that it's none of his business.
Jerry Oteri wasn't invited to the party, he's still working on the grounds, moving away from the party. As he walks towards the science buildings, he swigs from an alcohol flask. Sweet Pea runs around the building and attacks him, ripping Jerry's throat out.
A group of working class employees and soldiers chat. The soldiers ask them how they can handle working on the island. Grady says he drinks a lot. Lamont says he beats everyone in poker, which gets Johnson excited. Flynn gets up to get the cards and poker chips. Cat tells Major to start drinking, as it will take Flynn a while to go to another building to get the cards and chips.
Flashback to a nice dinner at a five-star restaurant six months ago. Ricky is dressed up in his finest suit, which isn't that fine. The waiter turns up his nose at Ricky. Karen, on the other hand, does belong in this environment. She invited him to dinner and he couldn't say no. She thought he wasn't going to come, but she's glad he did. He tells her that things have changed for him and she notices that he isn't wearing a wedding ring.
He asks why she called him. She says it'd be great if he joined them and her boss, Miscavige, really wants him for the project. He says Miscavige is odd, but she mildly defends him. Miscavige's son used to play baseball and he likes that Ricky used to play in the same league when they were younger. Miscavige saw him play several times and was impressed by Ricky's skill. Ricky is now a dog trainer and when Miscavige found that out, he had to have Ricky. He says the pay is nice but he holds back. She asks him what's wrong. He's lived there his whole life and he's reluctant to leave. She asks him what he has to stay behind for. He doesn't have any answers, so he accepts her invite to join her on Kopek Island. The flashback ends.
In Science Building B, Ricky and Karen have sex. It's good. They both finish. He goes down on her again.
Walking down the sidewalk, Flynn discovers Jerry Oteri's severed head. The party stands outside staring at Oteri's severed head, his body nearby. Miscavige, the Senator and General join them. Miscavige calls for his security man, Cash. He orders Cash to clear the area. Ricky and Karen arrive just as Cash starts clearing the scene. They tell everyone to go back inside where they will explain. Jae notices how close Ricky and Karen are.
Flashback to Ricky arriving at Shannon's house. She's a white girl Ricky's age. They're teenagers. They head out on a date.
Ricky drives with Shannon in the passenger seat. They both got into State College, Ricky with a baseball scholarship. He was on TV. Shannon isn't sure what she wants. Ricky wants to be a dog trainer. Shannon doesn't love dogs, but she doesn't express it too strongly.
Ricky and Shannon step up to the baseball toss. Ricky easily wins her an actual black puppy. He loves it, but she's not so sure. Ricky names the dog Bandit. He really loves the dog, but she's not into it. Ricky keeps the dog for himself. Later that night, Ricky and Shannon make love. Bandit sleeps in their room.
Everyone sits around the cafeteria while Miscavige stands at the front. He tells everyone to quiet down and they get started. He says a full investigation has been launched into the death of Jerry Oteri. He says everyone will be informed once they figure out what happened. Grady and Lamont lead a group that know that it was clearly a dog attack. Miscavige says not to jump to any conclusions. Jae says it couldn't be a dog attack, since all the dogs were accounted for, locked in their cages.
Miscavige says that the dogs are nonviolent, so they couldn't have done it. Ricky encourages Karen to reveal the data she uncovered. Miscavige tries to quiet her, but General Lannister overrules him. Karen reveals that the serum makes the dogs more aggressive, particularly against people of color. Miscavige denies it. Cat asks if they even gave the serum to the puppy. Miscavige and Jae give conflicting information and nobody figures out if the puppy was injected or not.
As things descend into cacophony, the general takes charge, declaring a military emergency. He says they are going to get their guns and search the island. Miscavige tries to discourage him, but Major strikes Miscavige on the nose. He starts bleeding and stops talking. Lannister tells the senator to call the helicopter back ASAP. MacDonald passes the order on to Paisley, who has the phone.
During the conflict, Jae drops the thumb drive on the floor. Cash sees it and pockets it. Nobody notices.
Bessie Bastos is back with the helicopter. Karen directs the loading of non-essential. The senator tries to get on board but Paisley talks him out of it. Hatos gets on without his rifle. Cat Binks gets on board. Paisley gives Ricky the satellite phone and boards. Flynn, LeBron and a few random employees get on board. The helicopter takes off.
Dallas arrives late and is enraged that he didn't get to leave. He orders them to turn around, but Karen denies him. Ricky lets Karen off the hook and continue the argument against Dallas. Dallas claims that his dad owns ALL helicopters. Dogue de Bordeaux appears out of nowhere and bites down on his dick and then rips him to pieces. Everyone runs as the rest of the dogs come.
Andre and Andrea work in the laboratory. Andrea is talking until she notices Andre stops responding. She discovers the dog Cort eating him. Aphrodite rushes at her and kills her.
Ricky and Karen run from the helipad. Cash runs for the Barracks. Ricky and Karen run into Miscavige and Jae and Ricky tells them the dogs are out. Miscavige tries to dispute them, but Karen tells him to shut up. He takes a step in her direction and both Ricky and Jae step to defend her. Then they stare each other. The alarm rings from speakers across the island.
Johnson, Major and Smith run between the science buildings. Zippy comes at them and the reverse and go the other way. Zippy runs past the other soldiers to get to Johnson. The dog bites him in the ass and then tears him to pieces. The men open fire on the dog, killing it. Smith feels bad about killing a dog, but Major said it's okay, the dog was racist.
Major and Smith run around the edge of the building to come upon Miscavige, Jae, Ricky and Karen. Miscavige asks who turned the alarm on. Cash arrives and said he did. Smith asks about the phone, which Ricky produces. Jae tells him to go ahead and use it, but Ricky doesn't know how. Fritz, Cort and Leon come running at them. The humans scatter.
Miscavige runs towards Science Building B but stops face-to-face with Sweet Pea. He turns to run, but the dog knocks him to the ground. She bites him on the mouth, ripping into his lips and tearing his face off. Ricky sprints towards the same building and makes it inside. Jae runs inside building A. Leon chases Karen between the buildings. Dogs are able to slip into both buildings A and B.
Ricky runs up the stairs and stops, but he hears dogs chasing him. Instead of continuing to go upstairs, eh decides to duck out of the stairwell and onto the third floor. Aphrodite and Dogue de Bordeaux give chase. Ricky tries to lose them and finds another stairwell. He dips inside and rushes upstairs. Aphrodite makes it through before the door closes, but not Dogue de Bordeaux. Ricky makes it to the roof and opens the door and runs into the sunlight.
Karen runs between the science buildings when Cressida comes running around the building, straight for her. Karen runs for the wall and Cressida chases. Karen turns sharply and the dog smashes into the wall. Karen tries to escape, but Cressida catches her. The dog leaps on top of her and she uses her clipboard to hold Cressida off. She grabs her pen and stabs Cressida in the eye. She stabs the dog over and over. Then she stomps on the dog's head until it is dead.
Flashback to Jae and a Russian Man meeting at a fancy restaurant. The Russian Man gives him an envelope, with the promise of more later. They've made some kind of deal.
Jae runs onto the roof and slams the door behind him. A dog crashes into the door behind him. On the other roof, Ricky arrives and slams his door shut. Jae tells Ricky to throw him the phone. Ricky thinks it's too far and Jae get enraged. Ricky tells him to go to the staircase landing. Ricky sees Max running up the stairs, but Jae doesn't. Ricky throws the phone, making sure that it arcs towards the dog. Max rips off Jae's left hand and then goes for his throat. Sweet Pea sees what Ricky did and nods towards him. Ricky flinches and the dogs run away. Sweat Pea heads towards the forest, the other dogs follow. The alarm stops.
Flashback to Ricky's home two years earlier. Ricky and Shannon eat in silence, Bandit sitting at his feet. They finish eating in silence and she goes to the bedroom and locks the door behind her. Ricky goes and watches kids play little league. He returns home and finds Shannon's wedding ring sitting alone on the table. He tries the bedroom door, but it's still locked. He goes into the garage, his Mancave, and sleeps on the couch, Bandit at his feet.
Everyone who is still alive and on the island is holed up inside the cafeteria. Major and Smith are nailing tables over windows. The senator asks what they're going to do now. Karen notes the dogs are all in the woods. Ricky says they're resting. Karen asks Ricky if he's seen Jae. He lies. Karen lets him. Shoshana Rose barks and every turns to look at her. The others force Ricky to get the dog out of the room. He resists because she's a puppy, but he's overruled.
Cash tells them they need to see something in the security office. He takes them to the office and points towards cameras that focus on the the island's dock. Two boats filled with armed men and women arrive at the dock and unload.
The nine men and women are armed. The Militia Man carries an AR-15. The Senator introduces himself to them. They know who he is. He introduces himself to a Proud Boy who carries a .22 rifle. He says they came because they heard the shooting. The senator meets he Prepper, who laughs at him. The senator meets the Klansman and tells him he sponsored a bill to create a White History Month. The Klansman is very excited to meet him.
The senator meets a Neo-Nazi. Then a Q-Anon Shaman with a staff. Next he meets a podcaster named Alex Limbo who carries a katana. The two previously met at CPAC. The senator meets the Congresswoman, they obviously know each other. She explains it counts as a campaign trip and hands out fund-raising envelopes. The senator meets a Trumper.
The general arrives and recruits the new arrivals to help fight the dogs. He says for everybody to get armed so they can go kill the dogs. Ricky says no, he's not killing the dogs. The general insults him and Ricky almost responds, but Karen squeezes his hand and he backs down. The general says he'd be a liability anyway. He tells Major to escort the civilians to the docks. Major doesn't want to, but it's an order. Karen goes with Ricky. The senator follows, as does Cash.
The wall of armed men and women head into the forest in an unbroken line. They move into the forest and hear a dog howl. Then the other dogs join in and people start to get scared. The General clams them before they run.
Ricky and Karen run into the kennel room and only Soshana, the Doberman puppy is still caged. They kiss and then Rick lets Soshana out. He scoops her up and they go to leave. Sweet Pea appears, teeth dripping with blood. Soshana barks at Sweet Pea. Max and Aphrodite arrive. Shoshana barks again. Sweet Pea nips at Max and the adult dogs turn and leave. Ricky and Karen are relieved. They take Soshana and run.
The general leads the line of armed men into the forest. He tells them to hold the line because the dogs can't get them all. He steps deeper into the forest. The dogs start running past them, but not close enough to be shot or attack. The Neo-Nazi fires a shot and it kills the Proud Boy. Aphrodite rips off the Neo-Nazi's nose. Dogs attack everywhere. Leon bites the Militia Man's knee. The Trumper trips and blows her own head off. Cort runs at Limbo and he strikes a pose with his katana and accidentally cuts himself. The Prepper shoots at Cort, misses and kills Limbo. Cort tears into the Prepper's elbow and then tears him apart.
The Klansman fires wildly and hits nothing. Fritz and Dogue do Bordeaux bit out his eyes. The Congresswoman pulls out a grenade. The Shaman twirls his staff. The Congresswoman pulls the pin to throw the grenade. It bounces off a tree and kills both the Congresswoman and the Shaman. The general fires at the dogs. Max smashes into him, knocking the gun from his head. Sweet Pea eats the general's left foot, Max the right. Fritz bites Smith and rips out his spine. Sweet Pea and Max play tug-o-war with the general, ripping him limb from limb. The dogs are unharmed, the humans are all dead.
Ricky follows Major towards the docks, with the others straggling behind them. Major asks a racist question that the Senator finds funny, but no one else does.
Leon rushes out of the shadows and attacks Major, tearing out his stomach. The senator uses Karen as a human shield. Cort arrives and stares him down. he confesses to being the Cleveland Torso murderer. Cort rushes him, he starts to wet himself and admitted his dad killed JFK. Cort bites him on the head.
Sweet Pea arrives, makes eye contact with Ricky and barks at the other dogs. Sweat Pea barks again and leaves. Cort and Leon follow and the humans make it to the dock.
Cash asks how they know that Shoshana Rose isn't one of the killer dogs. Ricky asks Cash what his "thing" is. Cash doesn't get the question at first, but then says his family. Ricky waits for him to put the pieces together and then he gets on the boat. The others join him and the boat motors away from the dock.
Flashback to a year ago. Ricky arrives home and Shannon's wedding right still sits where she left it. Ricky goes to Bandit's crate and finds the dog has died. He cries. Later he goes into the Mancave and destroys all his baseball memorabilia in a rage. He leaves his wedding ring next to Shannon's and leaves.
Ricky walks through the airport carrying a single bag. His itinerary says he's going to Kopek Island. He heads towards his flight.
In the present, the refugees from the island float on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Everyone is sleeping except for Ricky, who holds Shoshana while Karen leans against him. His phone is down to 5%, but he has no bars. He here's a helicopter and digs around until he finds a flare gun and signals the helicopter. Bessie Bastos sees the flare and turns the helicopter towards the boat.
At a military base, 10 generals discuss the operation. They declare that the dogs killing everyone on the island was a great success. The push a red button to order the destruction of Kopek Island.
Jets fly over Kopek Island and bomb it into nothing but rubble and debris. In the ocean, the remaining dogs ride a makeshift raft to safety.