"When tragedy leaves her life in shambles, Nance flees her Wisconsin hometown and its reminders of grief, creating a new life in the West. She is a scientist, specializing in rattlesnakes and attrition rates in dens, believing that "you can overcome fear, control the level of risk by being prepared, by knowing your subject." Now with a home in Lewiston, Idaho, overlooking the Snake River, and her marriage to Ned Able, a grade school principal, Nance finally feels at peace." "Then an unexpected visit from her wayward sister, Meredith, revives old family conflicts, and resurrects a secret life that has long lain dormant in Ned. While Nance and Meredith mend their relationship, Ned's other nature begins to emerge, transforming him in ways that Nance denies, until, with the help of her sister, she is made to see what lies beneath the skin. But neither can predict how far Ned will go to hide his past, or where his frightening memories will lead him as he searches out an object for his obsession."--BOOK JACKET