1863: during the American Civil War, the inhabitantsof New Fraternity, Indiana, find themselves far from the front lines of theconflict embroiling the United States but still constantly under threat from it;food is scarce, deserters come to seek asylum, and a mysterious feral beast thatwalks on two legs prowls the forest around the town. The beast seems to havesome connection to Emile, a feral child found a few years earlier who had beentaken in by the townsfolk during simpler times. As their fear and paranoiagrows, the townsfolk start to hunt the beast and turn on each other, with tragicresults that threaten to undo all that they have been workingtoward.