Expecting a quiet Christmas with her aunt and professor uncle in western Massachusetts, artist Kate Corliss finds herself in the middle of a bitter town and campus conflict over development of a treasured green space.Then an activist colleague of her uncle's is found dead and a wave of vandalism rocks the campus.Spurred on by the victim's sister who claims psychic powers, Kate searches for the source of the violence as incidents pile up--a midnight prowler, poisoned mice and overwrought students.As Kate narrows in on the clues, she becomes another target and her struggle accelerates to a physical battle for her life.