A modest household receives a visit from a hardened soldier who produces a dried monkey’s paw purported to grant three wishes at a grave cost. Skeptical family members experiment, and a casually spoken wish for money is followed by a work-related tragedy that brings compensation but destroys the household’s peace. Grief drives them to use a second wish to restore their lost son, which prompts a terrifying, implied return at the door. A final wish is used to undo that restoration, leaving the family to confront the perils of attempting to control fate and the unforeseen consequences of fulfilled desire.