There is something so dark, and yet so fantastical, about a Slavic fairytale. It tugs at our morbid sensibilities, begging us to read on, to walk the plot. Aniela knows this, too. She uses it. A shape-shifting demon, Aniela will borrow heavily from the annals of Eastern European lore to weave a story of her own – one specially designed to entrap her prey. Soon, however, that prey will find her chapters becoming progressively more sinister. They may even look for a way out… but there isn’t one. College student Sam Valente knows this all too well. Initially lured in by the promise of otherworldly mentorship from a seemingly benign entity, he quickly finds himself compelled to enact Aniela’s fantasies of murder and mutilation. Any attempt to refuse will be met with the brutal killing of a loved one. Sam’s only choice is to skirt the line – placating the demon while still trying desperately to reclaim his own life. This leads him to the brilliantly bizarre Emery Loudon, a psychiatrist who specializes in the supernatural. Together, they will walk a precarious path through paranormal case histories, Slavic mythology, and consciousness-elevating hypnosis – all in the name of forcing an alternate ending to Aniela’s sordid plot. How many people will have to die before they succeed? That is… if they succeed.