Painted on the bluffs near the town of Alton, Illinois is the mural of the Piasa, which according to early Native American residents meant 'the bird that devoured men.' The dragon-like depiction overlooks what the Ojibwe Tribe called misi-ziibi...the Mississippi River.Following an auto accident that claims her entire family, Sara Williams, a 16-year-old Chicago teenager, finds herself left with an aunt in the Great River town. Her cousin, Pamela Sweet, an Alton police officer, tries to help her cope with her physical and mental scars from the disaster. Sara discovers the area is plagued by the disappearance of many outdoor pets and small animals. People are reporting various strange creatures in and around the river. Mike Kellogg, a Chicago museum cryptozoologist, takes on Sara as his assistant and together with Pamela, they search for an answer to the question, Did the Piasa once actually exist? Sara blossoms into a crafty assistant who discovers that fate has a plan for her and . . .the legend may be more fact than fiction.