A killer hunts the humid streets of Sadie, leaving a calling card at the scene of each crime: a black construction paper valentine. The victims, each carefully chosen, are left the same way, broken and heartless.

Haunted by the ghosts of the dead, Rina Henley will stop at nothing for truth and justice, but in her quest, she has brought the spotlight to her and now plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

Summer Lin, Rina's roommate, thinks of herself as the Vanishing Girl. When things get rough, she can disappear like a ghost herself, and promises Rina she can help her disappear, too. After all, she's been on the fringes for weeks now, to escape the ugliest of truths.

As the summer simmers around them and Sadie is gripped by terror and tangled rumours, twisted love notes and secrets bring Rina and those closest to her to the very brink of destruction.