Not far from New York there is a small settlement of Gilead, where a religious sect adhering to Puritan views has settled. Young philologist Jeremy Fryers comes here to work on his dissertation. He thinks that he has found an ideal place, secluded and calm, but does not yet know that he has fallen into a trap and, against his will, has become part of the Ceremonies, an ominous ritual designed to change the fate of this world once and for all. After all, many terrible legends are associated with the forests around Gilead, and they do not lie: something ancient than humanity itself really lives here, an alien and intelligent creature that has been waiting in the wings for millennia. Soon the people of Gilead will learn what true horror is and that true evil lies even in the most harmless and familiar people.