Debra Gillis was always a worrier. But now, in her family's new home by the seashore, Debra has good reason to be afraid. A rash of break-ins strikes the area. A child is found dead on the beach with his neck broken.

Then there are the people next door, Frank and Enid Maul, who own the house the Gillises have rented. Not long ago the Mauls suffered a terrible tragedy that took place in the basement of that same house—a tragedy that, for Enid, never ends. A desperate suicide attempt by her only son has left him brain-damaged and mute. Debra, mother of baby Drew and stepmother to teenage Gigi, tries to befriend her neighbor. But Enid is filled with hate, embittered over the fate of her strange, silent boy, and begrudges Debra her own healthy children.

There's danger in the air. Is it from Enid? From her crippled son? And what secrets is the headstrong Gigi keeping? Debra knows the girl is in trouble, but her husband, Kurt, won't listen. Debra has always been a worrier. Then Gigi and Drew disappear . . .