"I didn't completely trust the word of a madman, but still I jumped?for Beth."

Feisty seventeen-year-old Lilith Lane has a dreamy boyfriend, a wicked tongue, and a talent for solving mysteries. When her little sister, Beth, goes missing, that talent is put to the ultimate test. And when Lilith's only lead is a reality-bending rooftop portal to an alternate universe, she's willing to make the leap.

Aided by local mad scientist Dr. Hammer, Lilith searches for clues in a parallel version of her hometown, Mirabilis, racing against the clock to rescue her sister from whoever snatched her. Among the suspects: her adulterous father, a wacked-out guidance counselor, and a scheming beauty queen. To complicate matters, when Lilith zaps into the alternate reality, she finds that she's not quite herself, and if she stays too long, she might not make it back. But maybe that wouldn't really be such a bad thing....