Thirteen-year-old Thomas Creeper hasn''t been dealt the best hand in life: heir to a miserable family funeral business, in the miserable seaside town of Gloomsbury where the sun only shines a few times a year, Thomas dreams of being anything but a mortician''s apprentice. A spy? A writer? Perhaps a combination of the two if the job exists? When a body arrives on the doorstep of Creeper & Sons Funeral Home with signs of foul play Thomas''s meticulous father overlooks, Thomas is thrust into the middle of a terrifying mystery, one which will reveal the link between his family and the darkest secret of his hometown.