Whilst investigating the death of a local shopkeeper, a loving computer programmer called Rachel Bishop uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, cursed hawk circulating throughout Wales. As soon as anyone uses the hawk, he or she has exactly 99 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look grey. A marked person feels like a damp tortoise to touch.
Rachel gets hold of the hawk, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into her mind: a frozen dog balancing on a deserted shopkeeper, an old newspaper headline about a bungee jumping accident, a hooded maggot ranting about warts and a drinking well located in a creepy place.
When Rachel notices her elbows have tortoise-like properties, she realises that the curse of the cursed hawk is true and calls in her lover, a navigator called Flora Rabbit, to help.
Flora examines the hawk and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the frozen dog balancing on a deserted shopkeeper particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Rachel and Flora pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded maggot. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?
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From @kpd