Whilst investigating the death of a local detective, an admirable painter called Polly Cox uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, solid torch circulating throughout Cornwall. As soon as anyone uses the torch, 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 shrunken. A marked person feels like an ill-meaning rat to touch.
Polly gets hold of the torch, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into her mind: a chilly kitten balancing on a tall detective, an old newspaper headline about a polo accident, a hooded pigeon ranting about legs and a drinking well located in a dirty place.
When Polly notices her fingernails have rat-like properties, she realises that the curse of the solid torch is true and calls in her grandmother, a computer programmer called Ocean Randall, to help.
Ocean examines the torch and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the chilly kitten balancing on a tall detective particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Polly and Ocean 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?
