Sometimes welcoming others with open arms can have grave consequences. For one Midwestern family, their hospitality is about to drive them down a frightening path. Devil in Ohio, based on Daria Polatin’s bestselling novel, is more than a cautionary tale about who you let into your home. It’s an exploration of trauma, secrets and a satanic cult. Before descending into this limited thriller series, out Sept. 2, here’s everything you should know about the story and key characters. Be careful — you never know who’s watching you.

What is Devil in Ohio about?

After taking in a new patient named Mae (Madeleine Arthur), hospital psychiatrist Dr. Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel) is intrigued by the young girl’s mysterious demeanor. As she awaits foster care placement, Suzanne shelters Mae at home with her family. Not long after her arrival, the Mathis family notices strange occurrences that throw their lives into chaos. When Suzanne tries to unravel Mae’s past, she learns that her houseguest is running away from a devil-worshiping cult — and now her family is the target.

Where does Devil in Ohio take place?

The limited series takes place in two rural Ohio areas. Remmingham, the small town where the Mathis family resides, serves as the story’s central location. Suzanne and Detective Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) also pay visits to Amon County, where Mae is from. Isolated, with miles of cornfields, it’s a place full of ominous secrets — so enter only if you dare.

Which characters do we follow?

Suzanne Mathis

As a hospital psychiatrist, Suzanne’s professional selflessness can sometimes be her downfall. She’s passionate about her job, which often takes precedence over her husband and three daughters. When she meets Mae, Suzanne only sees the good in her patient and doesn’t think about how the girl’s dangerous past might jeopardize her family.

Mae Dodd

Mae moves into the Mathis family’s home after fleeing a sinister cult. She quickly befriends Jules, Suzanne’s middle daughter, and slowly gets acclimated to their family life. Although she’s well-liked by her peers at school, Mae is still paralyzed by her haunting past.

Peter Mathis

Peter is a devoted husband and father, but he often keeps his struggles from his family. While Suzanne is preoccupied with Mae, Peter is having trouble with his fledgling real estate business. It also doesn’t help that he’s suspicious of their new houseguest and thinks his wife is too trusting.

Jules Mathis

The middle child syndrome is all too real for Jules. At school, she isolates herself from peers and hides behind her camera. At home, her older sister, Helen, is too busy with a relationship to even talk to her. When Mae arrives, Jules finally has an opportunity to make a new friend.

Helen Mathis

Helen, the first daughter in the family, is an overachiever and head over heels for her football player boyfriend. Despite being stellar in academics, she’s choosing to go to a state school to stay with him. She couldn’t be more different than Jules, which causes a rift in their once close-knit relationship.

Dani Mathis

Suzanne’s youngest daughter is a Broadway star in the making. With all the tension going on at home, Dani is the one who brings everyone together. She’s able to bond quickly with Mae because she understands what it’s like to be an outsider. Dani was adopted by the Mathis family after her parents died in a tornado.

Sheriff Wilkins

If anyone’s going to give you the creeps, it’s Sheriff Wilkins. He patrols Amon County, the place from which Mae escaped, but brings his shady presence to Remmingham to search for her. He has no intention of helping Mae, however, as he’s tracking her down to return her to the cult.

Detective Lopez

After leaving the Chicago PD due to internal corruption, Detective Lopez came to small-town Ohio hoping to catch a break. As the lead investigator on Mae’s case, he finds himself running into constant barriers and cryptic forces.

Is Devil in Ohio based on a true story?

Author and showrunner Polatin first got the inspiration for her chilling tale from real-life occurrences. “The book was inspired by true events from a story that our executive producer, Rachel Miller, heard, which actually took place in Ohio,” she tells Tudum. “When she told me the story, I was like, I have to tell that. I loved writing the book and I completely fictionalized the story for the YA audience. For the series, I based the story off the book, but I reframed it to be through the psychiatrist mother's perspective.”

As for the devil-worshiping cult that Mae is running from, Polatin and her writers’ room created every bit of it. “Me and my writers’ room studied all of the cults. We tried to learn about as many organizations as we could, then we made up our own cult using elements of many different groups,” she says. In order to make their Amontown cult feel truly realistic, they even came up with their own ideology and wrote parts of the cult bible. “It was a really exciting creative experience to make up this group from whole cloth and make it something really unique and special,” Polatin says.

When does Devil in Ohio come out?

The limited thriller series premieres on Sept. 2.

The Devil in Ohio Limited Series TrailerBeware what you bring home.