Greta King is scared. There's no one home, and she's locked out. Something is very wrong.

Even The Place, Greta's imaginary world, is touched by terror. The bright blue sky has turned black-red, and the magical cats won't talk anymore.

Ella King is scared too. She and Greta's little brother Justin are trapped in a dark, damp cell underground, prisoners of a madman who kills as if death were his to dispense by divine right.

The Place is both real and imaginary. It is sanctuary and prison, playground and battleground -- and deadly.