When a traveling carnival comes to a rural Nebraska town, the caged attraction everyone is talking about is the alleged Jersey Devil. When the beast escapes, tearing the citizens to shreds, local sheriff Sam Atlas steps up to form a tracking team. But the carnivorous fugitive is only one of Sam’s problems. The local pastor, enraged by the death of his son at the hands of the beast, has plans for igniting his own brand of hellfire and revenge.

Terrorists release a deadly biological-warfare virus in the United States.

Julia Kerbridge is working hard to get her doctorate. Suddenly, she finds herself the guardian of her young niece, Amanda, after the 7-year-old witnesses her parents' murder and is rendered mute. Julia soon discovers that her dead sister and brother-in-law may have held a secret life. Now, she must risk everything as the killers are still hunting Amanda for her parents' secret.