After the Union's devastating loss at Chancellorsville, the few surviving men of the 23 Illinois Regiment find themselves separated from the bulk of the Union army and behind Confederate lines. Alone and tired, this ragged band desperately try to make it back into friendly territory. With danger at every crossroad, they find themselves hunkered down at an old farmhouse, unaware the prior tenants have not moved on. One-by-one, the men of the 23 Regiment are cut down by beasts only spoken of in campfire stories. Within hours, the remainder of the regiment is decimated and only Johnathan Burrow survives, but barely. Bitten by a monster, part wolf, part man, he is rescued by Union soldiers and finds himself discharged and sent back home to Springfield, Illinois. He is welcomed home by his community with open arms. But the full moon is soon upon him, and Johnathan is thrust into a change that heals his broken body and creates a werewolf that terrorizes the growing community. As the weeks pass, Johnathan must come to terms with being a monster of legend, yet still hold onto his family life. His task is made more difficult by Mark Roberts, a man spoiled by wealth, who is jealous of the war hero. The battles Johnathan fought in the Union army could not prepare him for the battles ahead of him in the coming nights. The full moon brings with it another werewolf created by his own hands. The realizations become clear that he cannot let that beast or any other, even his own dark form, threaten the land and the ones who he loves.