For John Darrow, a product of rural poverty and trauma, home is the dark blotches hiding in the corner of his mind, the memories he wished he could wash away but remain forever imprinted into his psyche. John escaped the grips of generational poverty, transposing his nightmares to page and becoming a New York Times best selling author, but when a mysterious letter arrives, offering him a free three-day retreat at the luxurious Traveler’s Inn, John journeys home to rediscover his roots.
Welcomed to the magnificent lodge-style retreat, John begins appreciating home in a new way. But the mysterious Jasper Winters, manager of the inn, and the employees all raise doubts in John. Between the whispers and sideways looks, it’s almost as if this is some sort of production, trims and trappings of the getaway all a distraction…
Joined by reporter Erica Hirsch, John descends deeper into the sordid history of the lake region, from shady business dealings, to unexplained disappearances, to outright murder, with the Traveler’s Inn at the center of it all. But beyond the people and the stories there is something else. Visions and movements in the shadows, strange creaks and noises at night, frightening hallucinations and violent nightmares. The answer to the mystery lies beyond the periphery, in a darkness neither John nor Erica wish to explore, but one which has summoned them both.