Melody Bird is fascinated by the walled off "plague" house she discovered near the the graveyard, but she is even more fascinated by the mysterious boy, Hal, she finds living there in secret; he tells her he is a spy-in-training, a story that Melody's friends Matthew and Jake do not believe, and they set out to find out more--and uncover a riddle even more confusing than Hal's spy story.

In this conclusion to her book The initial insult, the author provides Edgar Allan Poe-inspired chills and shocking twists. Tress Montor murdered Felicity Turnado--but she might not have to live with the guilt for long. With an infected arm held together by duct tape, the panther who clawed her open on the loose, and the whole town on the hunt for the lost homecoming queen, the odds are stacked against Tress. As her mind slides deeper into delirium,...