August Hawksley has been able to see ghosts ever since she fled the woods when she was young. Along with the sight, she gained strange abilities that can send the dead away and bring her drawings to life. Now older, August is about to attend the prestigious liberal arts college, Baymont Academy. Keeping her secrets is more important than ever if she wants to live a normal college life. However, when a ghost leads her to the body of a classmate, beneath a symbol she has seen in her dreams, August volunteers to help track down the killer. Unfortunately, she is forced into an unlikely partnership with the rude and reclusive upperclassman, Charlie DaVoe. A literacy major who despises anything to do with artists. And to make matters worse, August finds herself living with him in his large, creepy house. As August and Charlie unravel the mysterious murder, questions from the past follow. Strange symbols, a mystifying journal and a single word that keeps turning up. Illustrator. A name which August is sure Charlie is keeping his knowledge of a secret. Together they must find the killer all the while asking the question; who is the Illustrator?