It centres around a man named Joe, who having lost his young family in a plane crash, is mysteriously approached by a woman who claims to have survived it.

The novel centers around Joe Carpenter, a man who lost his wife and two daughters in a plane crash the year prior.

Joe has never been able to fully cope with their deaths, and on the one year anniversary, meets a strange woman named Rose, claiming to be a survivor of the crash even when none were reported.

Finally acknowledging that the story of the crash never fully made sense to him, Joe begins seeking answers as to what really happened on that night, discovering that some may be interested in stopping him even if it means taking his life.

There are a large number of suicides of family of the crash victims, which for a while convinces Joe that Rose is somehow getting them to kill themselves with a picture of a gravestone.