In 1959, Holcomb is a small agricultural town in western Kansas. Herbert Clutter owns the River Valley Farm, where he lives with his wife Bonnie and his two youngest children, 16-year-old Nancy and 15-year-old Kenyon. On the morning of the murders, Herbert oversleeps, having stayed up late to see Nancy home from a date with her boyfriend, Bobby Rupp. After a light breakfast, he goes outside to his prized fruit orchard.

Meanwhile, Perry Smith eats breakfast at a cafe in Olathe, Kansas. As he waits for Dick Hickock to arrive, Perry pores over a map of Mexico, dreaming of lost treasure.

Back at the Clutters,’ Nancy receives a phone call from a neighbor asking her to help her daughter Jolene bake a pie. Nancy agrees, although it requires her to reorganize her busy schedule which includes tutoring another child, running errands, and sewing dresses for her older sister Beverly’s wedding. On a phone call with her best friend, Susan Kidwell, Nancy describes her distress about her relationship with Bobby. Her father wants the couple to break up, because Bobby is Catholic and the Clutters are Methodist.

Meanwhile, Dick and Perry drive to a body shop where Dick outfits their car for the long trip to Holcomb, where they plan to steal ten thousand dollars from Herbert Clutter’s safe.