In this debut mystery thriller, one woman must come to grips with her psychic gifts in order to assist investigators in bringing a serial killer to justice. As burgeoning population advances ever further into the valleys of the northern Rockies, crime begins to escalate. Disguised within this throng of settlers is the worst sort of criminal; a serial killer. Dormant for many years, he has come home to quiet Carlton Valley to exact revenge for what he perceives as past sins against him. His deeds will seek out the guilty as well as the innocent. Artist Gayle Douglas has been hiding most her life. Hiding from what some may call a gift but what she denounces as a curse; her psychic ability. She has been able to convince herself that she has ignored it long enough that it no longer exists. She is wrong. For reasons she can't comprehend the "gift" is back in spades and is driving her to the brink of insanity. It plagues her sleep, infiltrates her art in unconscious horror and will not leave her alone. Her nightmares continually get more vivid until she decides to seek help, something from which she has always shied away. Jack Elliot and Sasha Petrovich are both canny, intelligent detectives with the Carlton County Sheriff's Office. They are both from larger police departments in the Seattle area and find Carlton Valley somewhat of a refuge from pasts they'd rather forget. Jack's still smarting from the lost of a beloved wife, and Sasha has returned home to try to recover the solace that Carlton Valley seems to offer. So when lovely Gayle Douglas appears in their office one day with a seemingly unbelievable story, the last thing they want to do is believe her. Jaded as they are from years of law enforcement, both men find her sincerity compelling and decide to look into the veracity of what she claiming. It will lead them all into unknown and unexplainable territory.
