The only really interesting thing about the little port town of Eyeless is that once every ten years, the mysterious Ship of the Dead arrives, carrying a crew of skeletons who dance and drink on shore before sailing away once more. No one is more excited for this event than thirteen-year-old India Bones, who, having spent his whole life on Mexico Island, is desperate to leave and explore the great wide rest of the world.

When he paints his face and sneaks into the midst of the dancing dead, he ends up plunging straight into the adventure he craves. With an undead crew at his side and a magic ship beneath his feet, maybe India can finally find the father he's never known. But these sorts of quests are never straightforward, especially not in the first book of a young adult fantasy series . . .