Adam Brake, an astrophysicist, and his son Matt arrive at the village of Milbury, where they plan to do research on the giant stones that encircle the village. They possess a painting depicting an ancient ritual in which a circle of people are turned to stone by a light beam shooting into the sky. They meet some of the villagers: Mrs. Crabtree, the housekeeper for the cottage where they are staying; Raphael Hendrick, the Lord of the Manor and their landlord; Margaret Smythe, the curator of the village museum; and Dai, an old poacher. At school, Matt notices that some of the students, ""The Happy Ones,"" are very good at mathematics and cannot be hurt physically; aside from Matt, there are three other students who are not ""happy""--Kevin Lyle, the son of the village doctor; Sandra Smythe, Margaret's daughter; and Jimmo Browning. In the meantime, Adam touches one of the stones and experiences psychic phenomena.