A sudden loss in Haverhill leaves an old family friend behind, 18-year-olds Augustus and Allister Biggs have just the thing to get Bud Persly's mind off of his mother's death - the mysterious, yet charming, J.Q. Lazarus and his band of quirky carnies. With the ring leader in need of land for his upcoming two-week carnival, the Biggs twins persuade Bud to let J.Q. use his newly-inherited property. But when Augustus starts to question the ring leader's true intentions, he discovers a secret too horrifying to imagine. In a race against time, Augustus must act quickly to save his friends and Haverhill before they are changed forever.