Three-year-old Samantha Franer is dead of internal injuries brought on by rape. Worse yet, an eerie symbol - the spiked face of a straw-like man - has been painted on her abdomen. All fingers of guilt point at the child's stepfather, Paul Massieu, known member of an obscure cult based in New York State. Pompous pediatricians, presumptive police, and an eager press cry "satanism." Bo knows better. She has long ago learned to heed her heightened perceptions and her own intuition. This time they tell her that this is no case of ritual abuse. Then the victim's sister vanishes, undoubtedly kidnapped by Massieu, and Bo is placed on the case. Tracking eight-year-old Hannah Franer leads her to the misty hills of New York's Hudson Valley and the cult's "hideout." But Bo sees no evil here, a feeling underscored by the cult leader, an Iroquois mystic who is as wise as she is ageless. Two other things Bo senses strongly: Paul Massieu is not guilty; and only the truth can free young Hannah from the psychic torment that could destroy her. Following her instincts, Bo vows to uncover the real monster and save the lives of future victims. It is a desperate search that will lead Bo into the deepest recesses of the mind and the darkest caverns of the earth. And it will place her livelihood - and her life - in dire jeopardy.