Adam Brake visits the village of Milbury with his son Matthew. The village has a subtly odd feel to it but perhaps that is just the eerie presence of the many megaliths that Adam has come to investigate.
Adam falls unconscious after touching one of the stones which he attributes to their electromagnetic properties. Matt receives a warning about the circle of stones which he laughs off. He then begins measuring the geometric properties of the stones and also observes the children in Milbury belong to groups.
Matt finds himself in the circle of townspeople which leads Matt and his father to ask questions of their friends. But the answers prove more cryptic than informative. Then Matt notices radical changes in behavior in some of his acquaintances.
Adam and his associates ponder the cause of the behavior changes of some of the town people who became part of the Happy Day group then consult Dai who Matt says is immune to the Happy Day influence. Then Matt demonstrates the ability to see the activities of Dr. Lyle in a vision that doesn't match the doctor's story.
After Dai's body is found where Matt and his friends found a misplaced megalith his body disappears with a pile of broken stones left in its place. Matt reassembles the broken stone disk retrieved near Dai's body and experiences another psychic event which provides some clues which Adam deciphers. Then Matt experiences another vision that begins to reveal the power they are dealing.
Matt loses mental contact with Margaret and Sandra when they are indoctrinated by Rafael Hendrick. Later Matt sneaks into the church and finds Henrick's computer. Then Adam and Matt unsuccessfully attempt to leave Milbury.
Matt is convinced he and his father cannot escape Milbury. But Adam won't give up and proposes a theory that Rafael Hendrick is using the power of a black hole left by an ancient supernova as a power source to control the village. But Matt realizes he's got it backwards. They prepare a new plan of escape but the results this time are even stranger than their first attempt.
