Robert and Taylor Usher expect to be happy in their new house in Northridge, California where years ago, murder and mutilations destroyed the former residents. It doesn't matter to the Ushers, until those who caused the deaths come back, those that live in the earth, those that need, those that are not human. The Ushers new house stands between them and what they must have.
If you were a brilliant geneticist, working on a secret government genetic engineering project, and your fiancee dumped you because your sperm were not viable, what would you do to resolve your mid-life crisis? Dr. Gino Conti creates his own son by combining reptilian and human DNA, but discovers fatherhood an extraordinary challenge when his son's anger management issues include eating people.
The story, set in 1885, follows a British officer (Heath Ledger) who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers which symbolize cowardice. To redeem his honor he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.
The gates of Heaven & Hell have been broken and the afterlife is in ruins. One group of new arrivals must find a way to put things right to prevent an eternal battle between good & evil.