Jen Shaw (Charlotte Vega) and her boyfriend Darius (Adain Bradley) drive to rural Virginia with two other couples, Milla (Emma Dumont) and her fiance Adam (Dylan McTee) and Gary (Vardaan Arora) and his boyfriend Luis (Adrian Favela), to hike the Appalachian Trail. They stay overnight at an inn and landlady Aileen (Amy Warner) warns Jen: "Keep to the marked trail. The land here can be unforgiving." The six friends ignore these sage words and head into the undergrowth in search of the ruins of an American Civil War fort. Instead, Jen and co stumble into the clutches of a brutal, self-sufficient clan called The Foundation, which formed in 1859 in response to the impending conflict between northern and southern states. Tribe leader Venable (Bill Sage) severely punishes the friends for their transgression. Meanwhile, Jen's concerned father Scott (Matthew Modine) heads to Virginia to locate his missing daughter and encounters fierce resistance from the terrified townsfolk.