[1] The series follow Cyrus Smith, who – along with his sister Antigone – is a member of the Order of Brendan, a secret organization that is under threat from transmortals, characters from history who have become immortal.

Marilyn E. Burton notes that in this series, "character of myth and legend from every culture and era populate our world."

In the first book of the Ashtown Burials, The Dragon's Tooth, Maximilian Robespierre, the leader of the French Revolution, is revealed to be a transmortal.

In later books, legendary people like Gilgamesh of Uruk, Arachne, and Captain John Smith are introduced, all being known in the real world, and given transmortality by Wilson.

The Dragon's Tooth, published in 2011, is the first installment in the series and follows members of the Smith family, especially siblings Cyrus and Antigone who are new initiates in a secret society of explorers known as the Order of Brendan.

In Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Michigan, Cyrus and Antigone Smith run a beat up old motel called The Archer along with their older brother Dan.

One day a man named William Skelton comes to stay at the motel, giving Cyrus a set of keys along with something resembling a shark tooth saying they will "more than pay for the night."

Ashtown is a large base for the Order of Brendan, a more-than-1000-year-old secret society made up of influential and extraordinary people, who explore and protect the world from evil.

Bewildered, Cyrus and Antigone are sworn into the order by Rupert Greeves, a high ranking Ashtown official.

Nolan is a boy with "ancient eyes" who tells the two the history of the O of B, takes them around the estate, and introduces them to Ben Sterling, the kind but mysterious head chef.

That night, they are visited by Rupert Greeves who tells them that Dan is in the hands of Dr. Phoenix, an evil mastermind who had been expelled from the O of B.

Greeves also reveals that he and the pair's father had been good friends, but their friendship was strained after their father brought their mother back from South America, resulting in his expulsion from the O of B. Cyrus uses the Keys to sneak into one of Ashtown's "Burials", specialized eternal holding cells for immortal or transmortal criminals.

It is called the Dragon's Tooth and is an ancient and powerful relic which can supposedly raise the dead and kill the immortal.

Cyrus and Antigone, along with the others, confront Phoenix and aggravate him to the point where he changes into Mr. Ashes, a white haired gorilla-like monster.

In an epilogue, it is revealed that Phoenix has completely lost his right arm and also holds the body of Cyrus and Antigone's father.

Kirkus Book Reviews suggested that "though the mythological references still succeed," it feels as though the author is "trying to keep the stakes high and to top what has come before, which can be tedious for readers who are not attached to the outcome.

With the help of decreasingly few allies, the Smiths must find a way to beat the young Dr. Oliver Phoenix, defeat Radu Bey along with the rest of the transmortals, and restore the Order of Brendan.