Vern, a hunted woman alone in the woods, gives birth to twins and raises them away from the influence of the outside world. But something is wrong, not with them, but with her own body. It's itching, it's stronger, it's not normal. To understand her body's metamorphosis, Vern must investigate the secluded religious compound from which she fled and the violent history of dehumanization, medical experimentation, and genocide that produced it. In the course of reclaiming her own darkness, Vern learns that monsters aren't just individuals, but entire histories, systems, and nations.