Wylie Lark chose an unusual profession for herself: she writes documentary books devoted to real crimes. To create a new work, she isolates herself in an old farmhouse at the edge of the small town of Burden in Iowa. A warm fireplace, snow falling outside the window, and complete silence create ideal conditions for work—if not for one detail: about twenty years ago, three people were brutally murdered in that house, and a thirteen-year-old girl disappeared without a trace.