In a small Maine valley, thirteen-year-old Pierce Morin, born blind and deaf, possesses a terrifying gift: He can hear evil whispering. And now he knows an elusive, deadly force is stalking the people he loves. Meanwhile, Detective Jake Crowley, who'd long ago run away from the valley, has returned. A bizarre shootout in Galveston, Texas, finally draws him back to Maine-to a woman he can barely face, to the unsolved mystery of his mother's murder, and to a township that's fallen under the spell of a serial killer. For Jake, redemption lies in unlocking the mystery of Pierce's gifts, and hoping the boy can show him a way to stop the terrors that plague him. But while young Pierce can begin the search, only Jake can finish it-by looking evil in the eye, and claiming a terrifying birth right.