Derek Rains, a nature-loving real estate developer in Colorado, has just adopted a Xolo (also known as a Mexican hairless dog, revered by the Aztecs as the guardians of the underworld). But when the Xolo bites his young son, Derek is forced to abandon the dangerous dog in the woods, where it is picked up by members of a dog-fighting ring.

Horrified to see humans forcing dogs to kill each other, the Xolo taps into the ancient powers of its species to convince the other dogs to band together and kill the humans. Now free and wanting revenge on the humans who hurt and abandoned them, the dogs begin killing humans who imprison dogs, growing their ranks in the process.

With the killings spreading across the county, the local sheriff’s suspicions fall on Derek, whose dog was the only vicious animal in the county before these attacks. Derek refuses to believe that his animal could be responsible for so much carnage, but when his young son almost becomes the xolo’s next victim, Derek must face up to the facts and put an end to the carnage.

XOLO is a fast-paced but literary creature horror novel with a mixture of ferocious action, cinematic atmosphere, Lovecraftian undertones, and well-developed characters, which is the first in a planned trilogy.