12-year-old Mark Evans has recently experienced the death of his mother, Janice. Heading for a business trip to Tokyo, Mark's father, Jack, drives Mark to the home of his uncle Wallace and aunt Susan in coastal Rock Harbor, Maine where he will stay during the winter break. Mark is reintroduced to his extended family, including his cousins Connie and Henry. Mark and Henry get along at first and Henry seems to be nice and well-mannered. However, Henry displays an abnormal fascination with death and his talk of the death of Mark's mother and that of his deceased younger brother Richard, makes Mark feel uneasy.