The malaria parasite is a wily pathogen that resides comfortably within its parasitophorous vacuole in the host red blood cell. By skillfully exporting its own proteins across the parasitophorous vacuole membrane into the erythrocyte cytosol and plasma membrane, the malaria parasite ensures a steady supply of nutrients. As Przyborski and Lanzer discuss in their Perspective, the discovery of a host cell-targeting sequence in these exported parasite proteins reveals how the parasite accomplishes this task ( Marti et al.; Hiller et al.).