When Carey O'Neal left the old Kansas City neighborhood she vowed never to return. There is nothing for her in Ruskin Heights but painful memories, humiliation, and a deep sense of not belonging. She manages to build a new life in Chicago, a place where no one knows about Ruskin Heights and where she is able to forget about the girl she once was.
Life seems to conspire against Carey as a broken marriage, job loss, and injured mother force her back to Kansas City. She takes the only job available to her, selling real estate in the broken neighborhood she'd fought so hard to escape. She begins to question her own sanity as she meets new friends ”" each and every one dead.
As these new “friends” insist on becoming part of Carey's life, she must decide whether to leave for good, or stay to face the ghosts of Ruskin Heights.