The year is 1863. Deep in the backwoods of Tennessee, farmer Boone Dillard and his family live in ritualistic harmony with the earth and its seasons, content to eke out a living from the land, unaware even of the Civil War that engulfs the nation around them... that is, until Boone is seduced by a mysterious traveling peddler's dulcet promises of fame, fortune, and glory. As Boone and his hulking yet childlike brother-in-law set forth in search of their destiny, they set into motion a haunting and disturbing chain of events that threatens to tear the family apart, awaken restless ghosts and alter the course of their lives forever.