Curtis Mayhew, a boy living in the ghetto of New Orleans and working as a porter at the railway station, became famous among his friends as a man capable of settling any quarrel. But no one realizes his true talent. Curtis can listen... to other people's thoughts. In desperate times, there were always enough scoundrels ready to get money in any way. A man with an angelic face and a visiting merchant, abandoning their petty scams, decide to go for broke and kidnap the children of a famous businessman. Soon Curtis will hear a child's cry for help - and at that moment his fate will change in the most fatal way. The novel, which can be compared with the famous "The Shining" by Stephen King, was awarded the prestigious "Locus" and "It's Horror" awards.