Joe Hawthorne is an ordinary guy, or at least he used to think so. A military vet, former pilot, and struggling writer, Joe is living his underachieving, mildly messed-up life in the manner in which he's become accustomed: quietly. All that changes drastically, and dangerously, when long-lost cousin and childhood chum Tommy Valentine begins appearing at Joe's regular Seattle hang-outs. Tommy encourages Joe to seek out Dr. Sara Spencer, an unorthodox but insightful psychiatrist. She quickly diagnoses Joe as having hidden childhood memories that are the key to understanding his current problems. The fact that his childhood hometown was flooded many years earlier by a hydroelectric project is just the beginning of Joe's troubles. Joe begins a difficult process of self-discovery but quickly finds himself falling in love with his beautiful therapist. He also finds that others are strangely interested in his damaged psyche, and that their motivations are far from innocent. Joe's efforts to uncover the mystery of his childhood memories go awry when the people he seeks out begin to die in spectacular fashion. With the body count quickly increasing, and his own life and freedom in jeopardy, Joe makes a fateful decision in an all or nothing gamble to understand the past and banish his personal demons. In doing so, a far more ancient mystery will be uncovered, one that people will to kill to discover. To survive the epic battle with unknown enemies and the darker aspects of his own soul, Joe must use every trick and resource at his disposal, whether legal or extra-legal. With only his wits and his faithful dog Shovelhead to count on, Joe's chances of success are slim. In the end, he finds you can go home again. But you might not survive the journey.