During the 1860s, Dave Powers, apprentice to a horse trainer, volunteers to ride Archer to the Melbourne Cup race. Their start is 600 miles from Melbourne, and the journey is anything but easy. Of course, the pair have numerous adventures along the way, and in the end Archer competes in the Melbourne Cup race.

At a remote guest house known as Homesdale, a group of visitors find themselves subjected to strange rituals, psychological games, and increasingly cruel entertainments devised by the lodge’s staff. As the weekend unfolds, the tensions and obsessions each guest has brought with them begin to surface.