Stranded at a motel for the night because of the postponed cross country meet, Scott and the others suffer strange experiences that cause them to believe members of their own group may the mysterious hugger's newest targets.
Always an outsider and often unnoticed, Scott McCall yearns to be recognized in some small way that takes him out of his typical state of high school anonymity.
When his best friend, Stiles, convinces him to go into the woods one night to join a police search for a dead body, Scott encounters a creature in the darkness. Narrowly escaping an attack with a vicious bite in his side, the next day brings strange surprises for Scott at school and his life will never be the same.