Tom Cooper, a married man recently returned from WWI, falls in love with an artist visiting his country town, but he has misgivings after meeting her city friends.

When teacher Simon arrives in a small, secluded village to take over the local school, he is surprised to discover that his predecessor has disappeared without a trace - and that nobody seems too concerned about it. As Simon probes deeper into the disappearance, the inhabitants of a forbidding estate called "Summerfield" take on more and more significance.

魔鬼降临……一个寒冷的夜里，四兄妹在家玩纸牌，凌晨，妹妹僵死在椅子上，另两个兄弟坐在她的周围，疯疯癫癫又唱又叫，每个人脸上呈出一种极度惊恐的表情…… 侥幸逃过一难的老大随后证实：在他们打牌时，窗外的草地上，似乎一直有什么东西在移动…