Timothy Stoddard is a shy, stuttering, young boy who meets a girl his age named Arabella. Arabella knows things that haven't yet happened, and performs some neat tricks such as disappearing.

On a farm in Nebraska Eddie Verboom unearths a demonic-looking jade idol. Upon touching it a voice speaks to Eddie inside his head, calls himself "The friend behind your eyes," and promises him wealth and power if he does what he says, starting with moving to Sacramento, where reports of the SacTown Slayer, a serial killer, are dominating the airwaves.