Jan Evans rushes to the emergency room after learning that her husband Frank Evans, a homicide detective with the Cincinnati Police Department has been shot. For weeks, she eagerly watches over him as he recovers vowing that they will move out of the city to a safer place.
Months later, after a painful recovery, the family moves to Clinton Falls, West Virginia hoping for a better life. Unable to sleep during their first night in their new home, their fifteen-year-old son, Joel Evans sees four strange creatures in the woods and follows them. He discovers they are doing something in a cave nearby. Terrified, he returns home. Afraid to tell his parents, he lingers on the deck and falls off to sleep. The next morning, he shows up at the back door looking as if he spent all night in a swamp. Under pressure, he finally tells the family what happened. Frank promises to investigate. Their horror has begun.