A group of college students ventures to a remote mountain village named Madison County to meet the writer of a revealing book about a series of brutal murders that took place there. Upon arrival, they discover that the author is missing, and the locals claim they haven’t seen him in years. The townsfolk also insist that the murderer is a figment of imagination and that the killings never occurred. However, as the students begin their own investigation, they uncover evidence suggesting that the tales might be more truthful than the residents are willing to admit.