They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree.
One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn't come home from work.
Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an
Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the
Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos
gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the
crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos's
brother, Charles.
Even as Silas eagerly explores his father's town and its many abandoned
streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his
uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber's
ornate, museum-like house--something, Silas is sure, that is connected
to his father's disappearance. When Silas's search leads him to his
father's old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death
Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see
the dead.
Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport's secret
history--and discovers that he has taken on his father's mantle as
Lichport's Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into
the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his
father--no matter the cost.