After a day that felt like it would never end, the protagonist finally boards her usual subway home and falls asleep. When she wakes, she is not where she should be. She is in the train depot — well past the last stop — surrounded by hollow silence broken only by the irregular flicker and buzz of dying neon. She is alone. At least, she hopes she is alone. There is a feeling on the back of her neck that says otherwise. The Smiler — the serial killer who has eluded authorities despite a string of murders — is still unaccounted for. His only known identifying feature is a mask permanently frozen in a smile that promises things no one wants to experience.