Andrew Braddock has long retreated among the trees as an escape from the heartbreak in his life — betrayal by a former lover, the tragic loss of his older sister. Now this idealistic young forest ranger finds that the woods are no longer a sanctuary when he becomes stranded in the middle of them, at a top-secret government research facility. Unable to reach civilization by land or phone, Andrew must try to make the best of his situation, efforts made easier when he is introduced to Dani Santoro, a beautiful specialist in the Army National Guard, and Alice Moore, the enigmatic, autistic daughter of the facility's Nobel-Prize-winning lead scientist.

But the idyllic backdrop of the Appalachian foothills hides grim secrets that Andrew and his new-found friends quickly discover. When the Army's closely guarded experiments in this hidden corner of the backwoods go horribly awry, Andrew finds himself in a desperate fight not only to save his own life, but those of Dani and Alice, as well.