Whilst investigating the death of a local author, a sweet author called Graham Chen uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, squidgy knife circulating throughout Devon. As soon as anyone uses the knife, he or she has exactly 33 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look upside-down. A marked person feels like a fake pigeon to touch.
Graham gets hold of the knife, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into his mind: a sleepy kitten balancing on a noisy author, an old newspaper headline about an apocalyptic accident, a hooded mouse ranting about elbows and a drinking well located in a snooty place.
When Graham notices his eyelashes have pigeon-like properties, he realises that the curse of the squidgy knife is true and calls in his lover, a police officer called Sarah Chen, to help.
Sarah examines the knife and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the sleepy kitten balancing on a noisy author particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Graham and Sarah pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded mouse. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?