Nancy underhill commits suicide for no apparent reason. A week later, her son -- fifteen-year-old mark -- vanishes. The boy's uncle, novelist timothy underhill, searches his hometown of millhaven for clues that might hel...Nancy underhill commits suicide for no apparent reason. A week later, her son -- fifteen-year-old mark -- vanishes. The boy's uncle, novelist timothy underhill, searches his hometown of millhaven for clues that might help unravel this horrible dual mystery. He soon learns that a pedophilic murderer is on the loose in the vicinity, and that shortly Before Nancy's suicide, mark had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he imagined the killer might have taken refuge.