The Ramplings may not be the perfect family, but eleven year old Nicholas has the perfect life. Within the walls of Violet Hill he is king: every demand, every whim of his heart gets fulfilled, and this capricious hunger to possess it all, brings about the deaths of many, including his parents, driving him mad. This madness incarcerates him as well as a group of neighboring friends within Violet Hill as the house comes alive, setting up a showdown between Nicholas and former best friend James, in a violent struggle to uncover family secrets, and the seven year old mystery behind the death of James' mother. Their minds unraveling in a maze of psychological and physical chaos, the group of friends led by James, find themselves tempted to sacrifice Nicholas if it means their freedom. And Nicholas, unable to escape his family's past, succumbs further into madness and is forced to choose between his life and that of his former friends; a decision that could lead him to salvation by facing death itself.