When Professor Cletus Tremaine receives an urgent letter from his nephew, an archaeologist excavating ancient Native American mounds in North Georgia, Tremaine leaves his home of Arkham, Massachusetts, for the hills of Georgia to investigate a mystery. He thinks it's personal, only a minor rift in the family between his nephew Benedict and Benedict's wife Miriam. Instead, the trouble proves to be something ancient, murderous, and terrifying. A period thriller set in 1928, The Dancer in the Dark combines humor, suspense, and Lovecraftian horror as Tremaine first fights for understanding . . . and then for survival.