Newspaper food critic Madison Young lives a safe, controlled life in a quiet California town below Big Bear, afraid of the dark, afraid to take chances. Since the night her parents were slaughtered, she's haunted by his threats to return for her. But she's forced out of her sheltered life when a paroled sex offender is murdered, and her out-of-town editor needs her to cover the story.Reluctantly interviewing a witness, Madison jots down one word, a seemingly insignificant word that will link to a chain of murders across the country and to a secret society, a vast and deadly organization whose tentacles invade her own life. She traces clues, shocked when they reveal a connection to the man who murdered her parents, horrified when warnings to stop the investigation become deadly. When her editor dies mysteriously and a family member is threatened, Madison discovers no one is who they seem, and few can be trusted.With the Society closing in, she turns to family friend, San Bernardino homicide detective Dexter Quinn, to unravel the deceit before she runs out of time. Together, they discover a terrifying adversary, one who'll stop at nothing to protect the Society's secrets.