"Nestor, why does this creature hate me so much? Why does she hate my blood?" Minerva Herrera, a young Colombian woman and devout Catholic, is the love of Nestor McCorley's life. And although twelve years of parochial school have left Nestor with mixed feelings about God and the Church, he and Minerva marry after a brief courtship. She quickly becomes pregnant and the couple enjoy a happy domestic life. But in the late stages of her pregnancy, as Minerva is lighting a candle to the Blessed Virgin, she is confronted in the church by a frightening woman who hurls a shocking curse at her and her unborn child. In the weeks following the incident, ominous things begin to happen. With his marriage on the rocks and his wife's health at risk, Nestor begins to search for answers. Who is this woman? Is someone seeking revenge for something in Nestor's past? Is Minerva's former lover trying to get her back? Nestor enlists the help of a priest as he revisits his Catholic grammar school and combs the city for answers. Everyone he meets becomes a suspect as Nestor's life begins to unravel, and his worst nightmares become real.