When Julian Montague rolls into a small mill town on the back side of nowhere, he isn’t looking for any trouble. He’s broke and fallen on hard times—but his idea to run from a license check on a main highway has backfired. He went off road on his motorcycle and now he’s hopelessly lost and almost out of gas. Stopping at the only station in town, he's confronted by bullies with a gun who insist he’s on the “wrong side of the line” and then proceed to attack him. Fighting them off, he heads for the dubious safety of the “other side” when he’s attacked by a wild animal and crashes, almost killing himself. Waking up tied to a bed, he's startled to find his injuries are being tended by a large, handsome man named Leo who bosses him around, showers him with affection and insists on calling him kitty. Something is going on in this strange town called Hell’s Creek, involving the large paper mill and the strange inhabitants who live in separate territories and answer only to the Company. Julian needs to find out what it is before he finds himself the “mate” of another man—and the main problem with that is that he’s beginning to like the idea way too much.

Levi was one of the most popular men on campus at his little college located in the north Georgia hills. In the three years since his small group of friends left the little mill village called Hell’s Creek to venture out into the ‘real’ world, he’s watched as each of them has grown more carefree and happy. They played football and Frisbee, went to their classes and partied hard on the weekends. And none of the other students ever guessed that a small group of shifters has invaded their human world. Life would have been sweet if not for one thing—the one boy on campus that Levi wants to impress hates his guts. Openly, intensely, and with great malice. Christian has his reasons for not accepting Levi’s endless invitations, and they all have to do with a terminal illness he’s had since he was a child. When Christian goes camping one weekend with a friend, he’s hoping he can forget his troubles for a while and relax. It’s working fine, until a huge wolf and a black panther come roaring out of the forest and straight at him. Christian faints and when he wakes up, finds that Levi has taken him to his home in Hell’s Creek. The strange inhabitants of the town all believe they can turn into animals. And people are telling him over and over again that he can’t leave, because he’s seen too much. Worst of all, the more time he spends with the gorgeous Levi, the healthier he’s beginning to feel and the more he’s beginning to fall for him. Is there really something in the water like everyone tells him? Or is he just going as crazy as they all are? Will the secret that Hell’s Creek has been hiding finally be revealed? Christian has to find a way out of town before it’s too late, and before he falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love.