Young Sophie West, a star student at Merryville Prep, has a secret. She's hearing whispers from an imaginary friend she thought she left behind years ago. Whispers telling her to do terrible things with fire. Desperate for help, her terrified mother turns to Gordon Pope. He's helped troubled children like Sophie before. But he's about to find out that her case is special. Detective Dana Frisco is in the early days of a promotion gone bad. More paperwork, less action. When a mysterious arson case crosses her desk, she jumps on it. Frisco and Pope are on a collision course with Merryville and all the dangerous secrets it holds. Getting in is easy enough. But getting out may cost them their lives.