In the first book of a thrilling series, the reader is taken on a trip to London. Only, something is different. The city of London is being plagued by an event known as The Problem. For 40 years, all manner of specters, poltergeists, weeping maidens, and other types of ghosts have been attacking the city. In this unnatural London, children are being born with a Talent, one that disappears with age. These children have one or two of the following Talents: Listening, the ability to hear and/or converse with a ghost, Touch, the ability to feel the emotions of a ghost by holding an object precious to it, and Sight, the ability to see where something or someone has died.
The story follows Lucy Carlyle, a smart, confident girl and her companions, Anthony Lockwood and George. After a case disastrously fails, the team is forced to help Sir John William Fairfax, the owner of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted places in Great Britain. Will the team survive the horrors of the Hall and the infamous Red Room, or will they perish like so many others before them?