The Three Misfiteers emerge from a brutal summer only to start the new school year shadowed by an old evil. In Willowton the past is far from dead, a truth Molly Houlahan, Frank Bordeaux, and Billy Hashberger learn the hard way as they uncover insidious family secrets that refuse to die. After Molly barely survives her encounter with a deranged killer, the trio heads back to class hoping the ghosts of the past are finally put to rest. Instead, the trio's once solid friendship begins to fracture as each Misfiteers finds themselves navigating dark paths. Torn between loyalty and resentment, Billy watches Molly and Frank leave him behind to pursue advanced classes, leaving him on his own. Tormented by nightmares, Frank is convinced he's the target of an ancient malice and obsessed with finding answers, he digs even deeper into Willowton's dark past. Haunted by guilt and grief, Molly struggles to take care of her ailing grandmother even as she desperately clings to the illusion of control. But when Molly's beloved grandmother dies, a family secret is exposed, one that could change not just Molly's life, but Frank's and Billy's as well. Armed with truths they never asked for, the Three Misfiteers step toward a confrontation none of them are ready to face. The evil stalking their town has waited generations. Now it demands a reckoning. It demands a sacrifice. And this time, it may not let them all walk away.