In 2009, John Jones, a 26-year-old medical student and experienced Caving, arrives in Utah for the Thanksgiving weekend with his wife Emily and young daughter Lizzie. They are picked up by John's brother Josh, who tells him that the Nutty Putty Cave has been opened after having been closed before. Emily approves because of John's enthusiasm and he and Josh go to explore the cave. After Emily leaves with Josh's car, the two brothers enter the cave. John makes a decision to split up and explore an un-mapped route. As he goes deeper into the cave, he gets stuck in a small passageway. As he tries to go back and free himself, he falls into an even smaller hole and passes out.