In Death Has a Will, we meet Virgil Hoyt, a photographer's assistant in St. Paul, Minnesota, who grapples with his distaste for photographing the deceased. His discomfort is palpable, and he often tries to avoid these assignments. On a fateful summer day in 1928, his boss, Mr. Wicked, insists that he take on a deathbed job, despite Hoyt's protests. Reluctantly, he arrives at the Fielding home, where he is confronted with the task of capturing the image of Mr. Fielding's mother, who lies in a casket.