Mark McCullough Thomas

After a dream about a murder investigation, a professor discovers a pregnant woman in her house. When she enters, details about the crime resurface.

Haunted by her tortured childhood and the violent loss of the great love of her life, Eni finds escape in Los Cos, a mysterious underground club where cosplay and burlesque intertwine, and heroes and villains blur the line between fantasy and reality. But when a cosplayer dressed as "Merman" shows up dead on a New Jersey beach and a mysterious stalker gets up in her DMs, Eni must confront the traumas that have shaped her life and transform herself into an altogether more formidable force.

Meddling neighbors, ambitious social-workers and real-estate vultures conspire to torment an eccentric old lady. Or maybe they're just trying to help.