The first time Alice Jenkins locks Jesse Eging in the closet as a child, he thinks it's only a game. But as Jesse's captivity grows longer and food becomes scarce, he realizes that if he and his siblings do not find a way to escape, they will surely die.

When Abbi sees her boyfriend's darkness, she tries to help but cannot. She hopes being a father will change him, but it doesn't. When his cruelty becomes too much to handle, she leaves and quickly discovers who her boyfriend was all along.

When Claire Throssell meets Darren Sykes, she thinks her future husband's overwhelming displays of affection are signs of love. She fails to see that Darren is out to control her, and if he doesn't get his way, the revenge he takes will be terrible.

When Ryan's mother marries Blaine Nelson he hopes he'll gain a fun-loving stepdad. Instead, he gets chaos, pain and fear. And while Blaine relishes tormenting Ryan, he can never imagine just how dark and sadistic his stepfather truly is.

When Letisha meets Phillip, his charm lures her in. However, when his dark side emerges, Letisha is trapped with a monster. She manages to escape him, but when she discovers he’s wanted for rape and murder, she knows she’s lucky to be alive.

William Knorr's mother, Theresa, always threatened that if she ever went to jail for what she had done, she would take him down with her; after years spent helping her keep the horrors secret, he may go to jail with her.

As a boy, Eric Witte's father taught him to protect his family. But as his father grows increasingly violent, Eric realizes that he is the evil his family needs protection from.

As a child, Corey Breininger's stepmother, Judith Hawkey, coerces him into doing something horrible; he keeps her deadly secret for years, too afraid to tell anyone the truth.

As a child, Lori Hodge doesn't understand what she sees when her father, Gene Keidel, digs a hole in the yard in the middle of the night, but as she gets older and realizes the truth, she becomes a threat; he will stop at nothing to keep his secret.

For years, every time Gabi Blair walks past the freezer, she shudders at the thought of the horrors hidden inside; forced to keep secret her mother's crimes, she prays that someone will discover the truth before she becomes her mother's next victim.

When Dreamer meets Teddy she sees a broken young man and hopes her love will change him. Instead, he returns her love with fear, cruelty and control.

When Shaquoia and Imani first meet Isiah, they sense his evil and they don't know why their mother would date a man like him.

As children, Tabitha and Ann endure their brother Terry's twisted games and as adults, they try to cut ties, but their mother, Edwardyne, clings on and is always willing to give him one more chance.

Charles Sexton believes his father, Eddie, is God; he and his siblings are loyal disciples until the family descends into madness, and Sexton finds out that crossing his parents means death.

As a young boy, Michael Blanco had seen his mother do violent things that seemed straight out of the movies. But he never once doubted that she did those things to keep their family safe—until the day he learned the truth.

As a little girl, Karen Kuzma adores her older brother, then she sees changes in him she doesn’t understand; it never occurs to her that he will become the most infamous serial killer in American history.

Victoria and Christine Lisowski live in fear of their mother, Sungnam Kwon-Lisowski. They never imagine that this Christmas they will feel lucky to survive the holiday and their mother's crazed vengeance.

Melissa Moore loved being “Daddy’s Little Girl” and to her, her father Keith Jesperson, could do no wrong. But as she got older, that admiration was replaced by fear, and then by the horror of learning how close she had come to being his next victim.

Reginald Brooks began acting strangely, and Beverly Stephens worried that her husband’s bizarre behavior was a warning sign that something wasn’t right. But she never suspected there was a killer lurking inside him.

Kat Harris and Marla Kreuger love Lawrence Harris each in her own way; they dismiss his dark obsession as childish and strange, but harmless; neither of them realize he is preparing to sacrifice innocent lives for his evil purpose.

When Matt Roth is just a boy, his stepfather brings him along on handyman jobs; he thinks he is just there to help his dad, but he doesn't realize he is walking into the scenes of brutal murders.

Dennis Ryan grew up believing that his father's violent teachings were preparing him to save the lives of everyone in their farmhouse. But by the time Dennis discovers the horrible truth, it is too late-he has already gone too far.

Tiffany Shore grows up knowing her father is evil but keeps his secrets, then she escapes only to be devastated by the discovery that he has committed acts far more heinous than she could have ever imagined.

When Joshua Hudnall goes off to war, he feels more at home than he ever did around his mother; while Joshua thinks he’s escaped his mother’s torment, she sets her sights on someone else and destroys their family from within.

When Elizabeth Flores was a child, her sister, Louise, tried to shield her from a horrible family secret. But when Louise met David Turpin, that all changed. How did Louise go from running from monsters to becoming one herself?