Whilst investigating the death of a local homemaker, a popular shopkeeper called Elizabeth Sparkle uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, damp gun circulating throughout Canada. As soon as anyone uses the gun, he or she has exactly 65 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look translucent. A marked person feels like a red tortoise to touch.
Elizabeth gets hold of the gun, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into her mind: a dirty monkey balancing on a ruddy homemaker, an old newspaper headline about a bear baiting accident, a hooded pigeon ranting about fingernails and a drinking well located in a deserted place.
When Elizabeth notices her elbows have tortoise-like properties, she realises that the curse of the damp gun is true and calls in her aunt, a navigator called Sally Willis, to help.
Sally examines the gun and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the dirty monkey balancing on a ruddy homemaker particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Elizabeth and Sally pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded pigeon. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?
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From @kpd