Stephen Barber has done, in hindsight, something very foolish. Investing his life savings, heirloom book collection, and all the blood, sweat, and tears he could wring out into an apartment complex development. Taking on financial partners was supposed to lessen the risk, but when a worksite accident leads to a dead hitchhiker with a pocket full of strange coins, those same partners draw him into an ill-advised cover up and soon find themselves in the grip of a travelling curse born of old, deep wounds.

Now Stephen is changing, transforming. He's seen what happened to his partners and knows the clock is counting down. The future he risked everything for is swept away as he embarks on a road trip to uncover the history of the hitchhiker, and reverse his terrifying metamorphosis before time runs out.