She is adopted and named Emma by Lucy Thurman, a former circus fat lady. Warned that Emma may be in danger from whoever gave her the mysterious tattoos, Lucy goes in search of Emma's real identity, a search that leads Lucy to a confrontation with the demons haunting her own past.

Emma becomes a pawn in the grandiose plans for salvation by an insane itinerant preacher. All clues lead straight to the dark heart of Appalachian religious fervor. Lucy must risk her own life to keep Emma from being destroyed by the forces of evangelical madness.