Peter and Lorna are aspiring investigative journalists in Los Angeles
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who hear of a secret cult meeting in a basement somewhere in the valley.
They infiltrate the cult in order to expose its leader Maggie, who
claims to be from the future, as a fraud.
Once inside, they see Maggie is suffering from some sort of sickness and uses an oxygen tank. Still, she's charismatic and convincing, and soon Lorna and Peter find themselves being tempted to believe.
To make ends meet, Peter substitute teaches and deals with Abigail
Pritchett, a strange eight-year-old student who rarely speaks and always wears a hat.
Magie claims to be from 2054, a time when the United States has been ravaged by war. She said she must prepare them, and tests Peter and Lorna repeatedly, questioning the group and forcing them to question their notions of skepticism and why they believe what they believe.
Maggie also hones in on Peter's vulnerability over the loss of his mother at a young age, making him suspect she's telling the truth. This culminates in a final test - Peter must bring Abigail Pritchett to Maggie, claiming the girl is her mother.
Torn apart by stress, Peter and Lorna separate and he begins to launch a plan to deliver the girl to Maggie while Lorna, fearful the girl could end up dead, plots a scheme to stop him.