Don't pity little Tiffany Blair. Sure, she lives in a rundown trailer with her trash-poor mother. And the man in her mama's life is a mean and violent drunk. But Tiffany has a refuge: the dense, dark woods surrounding Stockton Springs.

Like many places, the Maine village of Stockton Springs has seen livelier days. Life moves slowly, and everyone knows everyone else. Disagreements are petty and quickly smoothed over. But all that changes the day ten-year-old Tiffany finds a human bone in the ancient Indian burial ground ... and frees the ancient curse.

It starts with the savage killing of local animals. Then -- as the citizens of Stockton Springs are revealed for what they really are -- the sacrifices take a human form. Yet blood alone won't satisfy the angry earth. A powerful, long-forgotten rite must be learned anew, and only young Tiffany can invoke it. But to put an end to the nightmare she's unleashed will mean a last battle between life and death.