Odd Thomas returns! This time he is not in the desert town of Pico Mundo, rather he is high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this third installment of what has become the Odd Thomas series, we find him in reclusion at St. Bartholomew's Abbey where he has gone for solace and seclusion.

While waiting for an oncoming snow storm – this is the first time that he has seen snow – he encounters bodachs. These are the dark entities that precede cataclysmic events and feed on the impending doom of others. The last time he encountered them, 19 people died. What are they doing at a monastery that caters to handicapped children?

“Loop me in, odd one” are the words spoken by a young girl who is in a deep sleep. These are words that Odd has not heard since the death of his girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn. It sends a chill down his spine.

By the time Brother Timothy is found to be missing, the snow is falling heavily and outside help is not available. The question is not if something will happen, the question is when and how bad will it be this time. It will be up to Odd to solve the mystery and save the abbey. Odd is about to embark on a journey of mystery, wonder and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.

For those who are unfamiliar with Odd Thomas, he sees dead people and other spirits, as the bodachs. Normally, Odd lives in a little desert town known as Pico Mundo where he is employed as a fry cook, but has chosen to live at the abbey to help overcome the grief for his deceased girlfriend and the burden he set on himself that he could not save more people at mall.

The dead people that Odd Thomas sees are ones who can’t quite make it to the other side. One of the reoccurring ghosts is Elvis, who sometimes cries, sometimes tries to make Odd laugh but is always trying to resolve the sadness he has for disappointing his mother. Although Odd can see the ghosts, he can not hear them.

In the first book, Stormy died and Odd believed that after a lifetime of service to humanity, that he would one day be reunited in the after-life with her. As in his prior books, Odd Thomas places his life danger to protect others. In this case it is to protect the young children housed in the abbey, most are handicapped and incapable of living a normal life.