Publisher's Synopsis
In the small Iowa town of St. Luke, in the sleepy summer of 1953, Lizzie Harris is about to turn eight. Lizzie, an unrepentant tomboy, has one fervent birthday wish-a real hunting knife-a knife she dreams of incorporating into the endless imaginary adventures she shares with her best friend Robert, the gifted but haunted seven-year-old who lives next door. But while Lizzie's rock-solid family life frees her to inhabit her childhood summer untroubled by dark anxieties, Robert is not so lucky. The house next door seems to harbor a frightening secret that leaves Robert looking back over his shoulder in fearful uncertainty. Then one quiet summer evening, the children's world is shattered by a terrifying incident that hurls Lizzie and Robert together in a race for their lives.
