Desperate for money to look after her family, Ropa Moyo accepts a job at the magical private hospital Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, but when her investigation into a coma patient leads her to the Edinburgh Ordinary School for Boys, she learns a long-dormant and malevolent entity has taken hold in this world.

Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker - and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh's dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl's gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone's bewitching children - leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It's on Ropa's patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world. Ropa...

Sixteen-year-old ghostalker Ropa works alongside Sir Callander to prevent the return of the dreaded Tall Man, who aims to merge the worlds of the living and the dead. "Ropa Moyo is a wannabe magician, can speak to the dead, and has officially given up being an intern. Leaving Scottish magic behind, she now works for the English Sorcerer Royal. But just as she adjusts to working for the English, an old enemy reveals a devastating secret about her...