In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) inspects a house she wishes to rent. Due to Samantha reminding her of her own daughter, landlady (Dee Wallace) forgoes a deposit in favor of one month's rent in advance. Samantha is struggling financially so she takes on a babysitting job for Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) and his wife (Mary Woronov). Ulman asks to meet her but stands her up, later apologizing and offering to pay double the original salary. Samantha accepts and gets a ride to the remote mansion from her best friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig). At the house, Mr. Ulman pulls her aside and reveals that he does not have any children to be monitored; the babysitting job is to attend to his wife's ailing mother. Samantha balks but finally agrees when she is offered $400 for the job, a significant increase in her pay. Megan immediately leaves, citing Ulman's lies and peculiar behavior, but she reluctantly promises to pick up Samantha later. Before the Ulmans depart, Samantha speaks with Mrs. Ulman, who tells her they are from "the desert."