Holland and Niles Perry are identical thirteen-year-old twins. They are close, c
lose enough, almost, to read each other's thoughts, but they couldn't be more di
fferent. Holland is bold and mischievous, a bad influence, while Niles is kind a
nd eager to please, the sort of boy who makes parents proud. The Perrys live in
the bucolic New England town their family settled centuries ago, and as it happe
ns, the extended clan has gathered at its ancestral farm this summer to mourn th
e death of the twins' father in a most unfortunate accident. Mrs. Perry still ha
sn't recovered from the shock of her husband's gruesome end and stays sequestere
d in her room, leaving her sons to roam free. As the summer goes on, though, and
Holland's pranks become increasingly sinister, Niles finds he can no longer mak
e excuses for his brother's actions.
