Each Ameri-Scares novel is based on or inspired by an historical event, folktale, legend, of myth unique to that particular state. Twelve-year-old Danny has escaped the children's home where he has lived since he was four, returning to the Shenandoah Valley to find his parents and demanding to know why they gave him up. Very soon, though, he realizes there is something dark and dangerous about his parents, something he is afraid to understand but more afraid not to understand. With the help of Jenni, a young neighbor, Danny quietly and courageously investigates the clues leading to the answers about his parents, his family, and what hides in the dark mountain cave not far away.