Panic invades a quiet town at the discovery of a woman's dead body, bound and covered with poisonous snakes. The grisly homicide ignites the instincts of police consultant Artemis Herne, who must confront his own haunted past to uncover the frightening pattern of the killer. Every victim suffers from a phobia. And every murder transforms the victim's worst fear into reality. As Herne plunges into darkness and hunts the truth behind the gruesome killings, he soon realizes that everyone has a fear to face.