Upon the death of her mother, Zoe Edevane takes time away from Oxford to fulfill her mum's dying wish. It's a peculiar wish that requires Zoe to obtain a specific grave rubbing under the next full moon. Beneath this full moon, as charcoal clings to her fingers and guilt clings to her heart, she longs to end the madness and return to Oxford. Yet she cannot ignore a gnawing compulsion to fulfill her mum's dying wish. With parchment in her hand the grave marker begins to glow. This experience sparks a change and disrupts everything she believes about her life-and life itself-when she meets the unearthly owner of the grave and his mysterious descendant. They convince her that she belongs to an ancient and covert society of archivists who interview the dead and record their histories. When these Host Writers begin to mysteriously disappear, it propels Zoe into a quest filled with secrets and murder as she flees from those intent on abusing the extraordinary powers of the Host Writers.