Catty Hammond isn't like other girls; she can talk to roaches. It's not a gift she ever wanted or asked for, but ever since she was a child, it's marked her as different. And in the suburb of Hilly Green, different is just about the worst thing a person can be. After a lifetime as a social pariah-culminating a bloody and terrifying encounter with a deranged murderer-Catty left suburbia and never looked back. A decade has passed since then, but now a call from her sick mother brings Catty home. Not much has changed in Hilly Green: the houses are still beautiful, the lawns are still immaculate, the people still smile and gossip and quietly judge their neighbors... ...and the serial killer Catty narrowly escaped from all those years ago is still there, watching her. He has his own gifts. He has his own pride. And he has no intention of letting the Roach Girl slip through his fingers once more.