Lee Donne's family is gifted. Her mother has three doctorates, her father is an economics genius, and her grandfather is a world renowned Shakespearean scholar. Lee's own gift, if you could call it that, is an eidetic memory that seems to maintain a visual representation of everything she's ever seen. For the most part, this gift is useless; it certainly hasn't helped Lee in college, where she's just spent four years drifting from major to major, with no degree in sight.

Without a job or prospects, Lee is relieved to be housesitting her grandfather's isolated Oregon home. But her stay soon becomes a nightmare when she is tormented by strange and menacing noises at night. Emboldened by a visit from her friend Casey, Lee finds that the source of these haunting sounds is an all-too-human force - a young and well-respected man.

He knew that Lee's grandfather would be away, but what could he have been looking for? The search for answers takes Lee from the Pacific Northwest to the streets of New Orleans.

Using her strange gift as she probes into her family's past, Lee uncovers secrets more far-reaching and sinister than she ever could imagine.