When the stuff of children’s nightmares comes trueNikki Smit survived Shadow Man’s massacre of her family. As the 25th anniversary approaches, a cold case duo claims science plus controversial hypnosis can finally identify the attacker who left Nikki brain-damaged and disfigured.

Small town gossip and theories about who did it—from family members, drug cartels, and serial killers—have long swirled. But as the biological evidence and Nikki’s forgotten memory is recovered, she discovers that not everyone is who they appear to be, and family secrets run deep and dark.

The murders provide fodder for the tabloids—nine year old Nikki trembling under the bed to escape her assailant, a botched crime scene, and a drug ring uncovered, sending some of Nikki’s extended family to prison. When Nikki turns eighteen, she moves back into the house where the Smit’s were slaughtered.

The news shocks everyone, particularly on the heels of a mysterious insurance windfall, then Nikki taking in a roommate with a sordid past. A terminally ill cousin, the next of kin one who raised Nikki after the murders, begs her to get justice for their family.

Nikki avows to see the case solved—even if it means exposing her own deadly secrets. .