Carolyn Marshall, a recently widowed, chain-smoking, cynical journalist is being punished by her editor, sent to a small town to investigate a frivolous tabloid story of a horse that gave birth to a human baby.

But the further she’s pulled into this clearly ridiculous rumor…the more she begins to wonder if the story might be true.

In Raeford, Marshall finds a town of damaged families, an addiction crisis, and quiet violence hidden behind quivering smiles, in a community that rescues horses but cannot seem to rescue itself.

While grappling with the trauma of her own recent loss, Marshall discovers that the dark truth hidden in the town of Raeford is that a mysterious creature of the woods is more than just a legend. It can be summoned to take the baby from your womb and put it in a horse, freeing you from the burdens of birth and motherhood at the cost of a sacrifice…

The life of the father.

However, the monster wanders the woods unsatisfied, and has come to extract payment from the town.

Someone summoned the monster.

Someone gave a horse their child.

Someone broke the promise.

As the beast’s presence threatens to rend the crumbling community apart, Marshall will have to find a way to claw her way out as the people around her seek a new target for the monster’s wrath.