Barely surviving a terrifying yachting accident, Mark Sayres finds himself in a remote area of the Olympic Peninsula coast in Washington State. He has come to look for his wife, Maggie, who has been troubled by a discovery at the archaeological site where she is working. After recovering at the home of Sandra Torrel, whose mysterious husband is burdened with a disturbing family secret, Mark learns of a succession of strange events in the little town of Neah Bay that seem connected with the nearby excavation. Why are archaeologists Paul Radwick and Ken Matsamura so secretive about what may have been unearthed? Can their discovery have something to do with an appalling incident of nearly a century ago . . . or with the Indian legend of Sisiutl, a mythical sea creature that captures souls of the dead? In this chilling novel, Philip Haldeman evokes the rugged seacoast, eerie rainforests, small-town confines, compelling history, and human interrelationships of a remote corner of the Pacific Northwest, all within a darkly atmospheric tale that brings to mind the work of Poe, Lovecraft, and Blackwood.