A teenage girl, Jessica, befriends a teenage boy called Tom, who is bullied by a local gang. She is abused by Jack, who is both her neighbour and school teacher, and Tom is sexually abused by his father. Together they bond in the woods, creating a private reality that no-one else can enter.

After the body of a 14-year-old girl is found in a field, detective Ted Lyle and his wife Sandra are among local parents caught up in a wave of fear and suspicion. Ted's investigations then uncover a shocking suspect.