The main character is a teenager, the offspring of a large Scottish family where everyone is happy—and it seems to him it will always be that way. But nothing is eternal under the moon: his grandmother dies, his aunt and best friend perish. Everyone eventually passes along the Raven Road—the road of death. At eighteen, there’s a good reason to sort out questions of religion, see one’s true love, and conduct a dangerous investigation into the mysterious disappearance of his uncle Rory, who one day didn’t return from a walk home.