Whilst investigating the death of a local hairdresser, a helpful psychiatrist called Luke Thomas uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, ripped rock circulating throughout London. As soon as anyone uses the rock, he or she has exactly 28 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look mirrored. A marked person feels like a dirty fox to touch.
Luke gets hold of the rock, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into his mind: a wild kitten balancing on a frozen hairdresser, an old newspaper headline about a hit and run accident, a hooded bear ranting about eyes and a drinking well located in a hilly place.
When Luke notices his ankles have fox-like properties, he realises that the curse of the ripped rock is true and calls in his wife, a teacher called Charity Blacksmith, to help.
Charity examines the rock and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the wild kitten balancing on a frozen hairdresser particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Luke and Charity pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded bear. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?
