Whitman Coe's beloved wife Alice died under brutal and inexplicable circumstances-savagely slashed to death by a clawed creature unknown to our world. Consumed by grief, Whit struggles to raise his young son alone. On the third anniversary of Alice's death, Whit's brother Adam calls. Adam tells Whit his estranged father has died under brutal and inexplicable circumstances-savagely slashed to death by a clawed creature unknown to our world. Obsessed with solving the mystery of Alice's murder and taking vengeance on her killer, Whit returns to a town and a dark past he fled twenty-five years ago. There he finds a malevolent presence that haunted his childhood waiting for him. As he unravels the mystery of his wife's death, Whit unearths a long-buried family secret. A secret that places Whit at the center of an ancient prophecy that foretells the end of the world... And Whit's role in the coming apocalypse.