On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens with the fragments of a nightmare floating on the edge of her consciousness. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric adopted baby Tatty. Now, at 15, Tatiana is more beautiful than ever --- and disturbingly erratic. As a blizzard rages outside, Holly and Tatiana are alone. With each passing hour, Tatiana’s mood darkens, and her behavior becomes increasingly frightening…until Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.

When Katrina Connors' mother walks out on her family, Kat is surprised but not shocked; the whole year she has been "becoming 16" --- falling in love with the boy next door, shedding her babyfat, discovering sex --- her mother has been slowly withdrawing. But when she is haunted by all-too-real dreams in which her mother is crying for help, Kat must act on her instinct that something violent and evil has occurred --- a realization that will lead her to a chilling discovery.