An escape from a chain gang in the deserts of California led by a hardened criminal nicknamed "Flies" leads to a forgotten government research base with a nuclear secret 20 years old. A convict changes his identity and returns to his hometown, hiding as an usher in a deteriorating movie palace. But he's been here - 20 years before - and what's hidden in his history, and lurking backstage, awakens a silent horror as patient and possessive as the decay overtaking the haunted building. A crime novel reconfigured as gothic chamber piece, "Flies" slides through a narrative that slowly destabilizes as plot turns and horror elements poke at and unseal the rules of genre.