Whilst investigating the death of a local computer programmer, a courageous psychiatrist called Charity Thunder uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, crumpled hat circulating throughout Scotland. As soon as anyone uses the hat, he or she has exactly 45 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look distorted. A marked person feels like a curvy gerbil to touch.
Charity gets hold of the hat, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into her mind: an evil monkey balancing on a tall computer programmer, an old newspaper headline about a skating accident, a hooded gerbil ranting about moles and a drinking well located in a beautiful place.
When Charity notices her feet have gerbil-like properties, she realises that the curse of the crumpled hat is true and calls in her sister, a painter called Ocean Malkovich, to help.
Ocean examines the hat and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the evil monkey balancing on a tall computer programmer particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Charity and Ocean pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded gerbil. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?
Read next