"We were always hungry. Hungry for something new, something fun, something that made us tiptoe on the line between brave and insane. Dreamland got rid of that hunger, but it did it in the worst way possible." Eloise was alone in Rhode Island. Her mother was dead, her father buried himself in his work, and no one ever bothered to talk to her at school. Eloise was completely and utterly alone. And one night, Eloise realizes she will never be happy if she keeps living the way she does. So she bleaches her hair, packs her bag, and runs away. She runs all the way to the little town of Aurora, North Carolina, where her distant Aunt Judy lives. That's when she met The Girls, ribbons in their hair and bubblegum globs in their mouths. They immediately befriend Eloise, and Eloise realizes that The Girls' friendship is what she has been missing her entire life. She quickly becomes one of them, and they welcome her in open arms. During a hot summer day in mid-July, The Girls, restless and malevolent, discover a abandoned amusement park by the name of Dreamland, where they learn some things about themselves, and why it's okay for some places to rot in peace.