At the end of her first week on the job, rookie deputy Kelly Mackinaw finds herself trapped on Lost Lake with three unidentified bodies, twelve potential killers and one vengeful ghost.

Stranded in an inhospitable corner of Northern Minnesota, Billy Green takes a job at a remote, derelict motel. Friendless, battered and dead broke, he is eager for a chance to rest after weeks of hard travelling. Unfortunately for Billy, The Petting Zoo Motel is no refuge.

Harden, Minnesota, October 1952.
When a silent new boy arrives at her small-town high school, Cindy Deltanna—a rebellious Roddette with a straight razor in her pocket and trouble in her blood—can’t help but take notice.