Devin Jones takes a summer job at Joyland in North Carolina. Devin is told by local fortune teller Rozzie that he will meet two children that summer: a girl with a red hat and a boy with a dog. Devin secures lodging for the summer at a rooming house owned by Mrs. Shoplaw, a woman who knows a great deal of Joyland's history and employees. Devin's girlfriend Wendy promises to finally sleep with him before the semester ends but ditches him at the last moment.
