Jessica never thought it would go this far. Here she was, trapped in her own basement with a monster who’d already eaten one of her friends and couldn’t wait to sink its shadowy claws into her. She wasn’t anyone’s idea of a hero—a bookish computer nerd in way over her head. If she’d just ignored the visions. Ignored the way the laws of physics seemed to be wavering. Ignored the voice of the Gatekeeper inside her head showing her the arcane secrets of magic, she could be blissfully ignorant of the death and pain stalking her small town. But you can’t look away once you’ve seen real evil. She'd been shunned by her (former) best friends. Her name was a joke at school. Her parents thought she was either already on drugs, or should be. And, her only allies were just as fragile and confused as her. There's one thing this killer from the past hadn’t counted on... When the going gets weird, the tough are useless. You need a geek.

When the world goes crazy, it helps to have a head start. Mutant science projects, a troubled werewolf, and other magic-related dangers are Jessica’s new normal, but someone has started targeting the students of Coldwater High with powerful curses, and she’s a suspect. A serious mistake forces her to question whether she deserves Drew and Michiru’s loyalty, and with the gatekeeper’s alien influence in her head, she’s not even sure she can trust herself. Just as Jessica realizes she has also been hit with a lethal curse, a disastrously magical Valentine’s Day leaves her cut off from friends and forces her to put her life in the hands of her worst enemy.