When she was 10 years old, Melba Li was sent to a mental institution for attempted murder--a crime she blamed on a spidery phantom called "Polly Peachpit."

Now, on the eve of her 18th birthday, Melba receives an unexpected offer from the FBI: in exchange for a reprieve from her sentence, she will work with Special Agent Virgil Crockett to hunt down I.M.P.s--Interdimensional Mental Parasites--that prey on the minds of humans.

Polly Peachpit is one of those I.M.P.s, and Crockett needs Melba to convince her childhood tormentor to help with his mission--because only I.M.P.s and the humans they are linked with can see and interact with each other.

If she succeeds, Melba will finally free herself from the trauma of her past. But can her fragile sanity survive a partnership with the creature that drove her mad in the first place?

Written by Tim Seeley (Nightwing, Hack/Slash) and illustrated by Stephen Molnar (Star Trek/Green Lantern, Danger Girl: Renegade), Imaginary Fiends collects all six issues of the unforgettable Vertigo miniseries.