In 1982 Pine River, Georgia, the summer plans of twelve year old Starr Ravenel and her running buddy, Tommy Lee Bledsoe, are soon dashed when a terrible pall is cast over their town. An apparent psychopathic killer of young red-headed women has now deposited the body of his third victim in a dumpster in the heart of town. But he is not through. To the horror of the townsfolk, he strikes again, leaving yet another uncanny calling card on the body. This time the victim is one of their own. Starr's father, Blake, a town icon, is Pine River's police chief. As he collaborates with State and Federal law officers to hunt down the killer, suspects continue to pop up, the most likely of which is a middle-aged recluse ironically living next door to the Ravenels. Starr, a passionate, precocious child and a student of Astronomy, scans the heavens nightly with her telescope while also keeping a watchful eye on her eccentric neighbor. Like a ghost from out of the past, a mysterious diary falls into Starr's hands and its contents not only provide clues that will lead directly to the killer, but splits the town wide open.