Cinemax has acquired the television rights to George R.R. Martin's acclaimed werewolf novella "The Skin Trade."

First published in the 1988 horror anthology "Night Visions 5," the story follows private investigator Randi Wade, who sets off on the trail of a serial killer who takes the skin of victims, only to be drawn into a dark underworld when her close friend Willie Flambeaux suddenly becomes a target and must reveal a startling secret.

Kalinda Vazquez ("Once Upon a Time," "Prison Break") will write the adaptation and executive produce alongside Martin and others.

"I have always thought there was a TV series (or maybe a feature film) in Willie Flambeaux and Randi Wade," Martin wrote on his blog. "Those of you who know the story of 'Doorways,' my ill-fated ABC pilot from the early 90s, may even recall that it was 'Skin Trade' that I was actually trying to sell back in 1991, when I flew out to LA for a round of pitch meetings. So we're a few decades late ..."

Cinemax is of course a corporate sibling of HBO, which produces Martin's "Game of Thrones."

(via Deadline)