Melba is assigned to her first case, investigating a series of child disappearances in rural Georgia. As Melba and Agent Crockett uncover clues about the horror gripping the residents, Melba must resist both the temptation to escape into the real world after spending seven years locked up and the terrible appetite of the newly unleashed Polly Peachpit, Melba's own personal psychic parasite-a massive spider-human only Melba can see, but is far from imaginary. MATURE READERS