Whilst investigating the death of a local housekeeper, an energetic teacher called Wenna Bishop uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, damp rock circulating throughout Cornwall. As soon as anyone uses the rock, he or she has exactly 70 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 scheming owl to touch.
Wenna gets hold of the rock, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into her mind: a frozen elephant balancing on a quiet housekeeper, an old newspaper headline about a golfing accident, a hooded flamingo ranting about hands and a drinking well located in an idyllic place.
When Wenna notices her eyes have owl-like properties, she realises that the curse of the damp rock is true and calls in her aunt, a computer programmer called Fairydust Humble, to help.
Fairydust examines the rock and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the frozen elephant balancing on a quiet housekeeper particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Wenna and Fairydust pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded flamingo. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?
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From @memeon