Jenna Emerson learns she's clairvoyant when her mother's spirit contacts her with a plea for help. Something in the afterlife threatens the survival of spirits from Haldis Notch, Vermont.
From the house next door comes another plea, this time from the living. Responding to it leads Jenna to reunite with her childhood friend, and she learns how intensely his deceased father, Jake, resented the residents of Haldis Notch. Retaliation against physical lives wasn't enough. He carried his venom into death, determined to inflict vengeance on their souls. Jake always had a special passion for Jenna, and now she's the only one who can stop him. To succeed she must learn more about what drives him, but understanding Jake's motives draws her into his trap. If Jenna falls victim, every soul in Haldis Notch will suffer the ultimate retaliation for the petty grudges they held in life.