Winifred had always blamed Daniel for the disappearance of her fifteen year-old daughter Charlene. No body had been found. She had been terribly lonely since the loss, and kept Charlene's room in the big house just the way she had left it. Daniel had been tormented for twenty-six years over the death of Charlene, his cousin and sweetheart. He knew things about Charlene that no one else ever knew. Daniel was restless, and could not stay with his family, even though he loved them. After starting yet another relationship, he suggested that wife Ronna and the three kids go to California to live with Winifred. Ronna felt that she had no other choice. Upon arriving, it quickly became apparent that Winifred was not as friendly as she had seemed in her letters. She was especially cold towards Kim, Ronna's daughter from a previous relationship. Ten-year old Kevin explored the huge old barn, then struck up a friendship with Carl, a boy from a neighboring house. They decided to go swimming. The discovery they made under the river bank led to Carl's death by drowning. Kevin tried to explain to his older sister Kim what had really happened, but she simply could not believe him. Within a few short days following Carl's drowning, Winifred was brutally murdered, while youngest daughter Sara went missing. How could everything turn topsy-turvy so quickly? What evil had been unleashed?