After she receives signs that she has the psychic ability which is known in her family as the Gift, Bone discovers an anonymous note which says that the Gift killed her mother and she becomes determined to discover the truth about her past.

In an alternate United Kingdom, King Snodd aims to control the world by controlling magic, and only sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange, acting manager of an employment agency for sorcerers, stands between Snodd and his plans.

Amelia, long a ghost, forms a strong bond with eighteen-year-old Joshua, who nearly drowned where she did and who awakens in her long-forgotten senses and memories even as Eli, a spirit, tries to draw her away.