- The movie begins with an opening text, a flat-out lie informing us that what we're about to see is based on true events that happened in Minnesota in 1987.
- Next, a car towing another car drives on a highway through the snowy landscape.
- Except for the car slowly emerging out of the desolate scene, there's nothing else in sight.
- The driver heads to a tavern where he meets with two men, introducing himself as Jerry Lundegaard.
- The men, Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud, are annoyed, since Jerry's apparently an hour late. Jerry says he's here at the time he said he'd be.
- Guess there was a misunderstanding. Foreshadowing alert: the first of many things that go wrong.
- They get down to business. Jerry's friend Shep Proudfoot recommended these two guys as criminal associates for a job Jerry needs them to do: he wants them to kidnap his wife. The plan is for them to ask for ransom money, which Jerry will get from his rich father-in-law.
- Jerry will collect the money, give the kidnappers an $80,000 payoff and he'll throw in the car he's brought along with him, an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
- This would be a killer (pun intended) product placement if they hadn't stopped making Cieras years ago.
- They'll get half the money now and half later. Jerry will keep part of the ransom money and get Jean back unharmed.
- Jerry won't tell the men why he needs the money.
- Carl wants to know, but eventually caves and agrees to do the job.