After private investigator John Trent is attacked by an ax-wielding maniac asking "Do you read Sutter Cane?" he goes in search of the novelist and the missing manuscript for his next novel with publishing executive Linda Styles. By piecing together a puzzle of Cane's own design the two go looking for him in a secluded New Hampshire town not found on any maps--Hobb's End. But when they reach the town Trent and Styles discover the residents are straight out of Cane's horror novels and reality isn't what it seems. Seemingly trapped in a story of ultimate evil Trent has to find a way out before Cane can unleash his opus on the world.