A young couple, Burt and Vicky, are traveling through the rural midwest when a mysterious accident forces them to seek help in a seemingly deserted small town named Gatlin. The town is eerily silent, with no adults in sight and an atmosphere that screams abandonment. As they explore the town for assistance, they discover an isolated society of children who adhere to a religious cult that worships a deity they refer to as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” This entity demands the blood of the adults and the fealty of the children, leading to the horrifying realization that all the adults in town have met a gruesome fate at the hands of their own offspring.

The couple soon learns of the children's brutal and chilling rituals, which require the sacrifice of all adults and anyone who reaches the age of nineteen. As Burt and Vicky delve deeper into the town's secrets, they find themselves viewed as threats by the cult's leader, a zealous young boy named Isaac, and his violent lieutenant, Malachai. Now, they must navigate a landscape of fanaticism and fear, trying to uncover the truth about the entity these children serve while seeking an escape from the nightmare that Gatlin has become before they become the next sacrifices.