Whilst investigating the death of a local doctor, a Random detective called R Bloggs uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, cursed hat circulating throughout Devon. As soon as anyone uses the hat, he or she has exactly 21 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look distorted. A marked person feels like an idyllic ostrich to touch.
R gets hold of the hat, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into his mind: a sweltering elephant balancing on an old-fashioned doctor, an old newspaper headline about a fang accident, a hooded horse ranting about eyes and a drinking well located in a creepy place.
When R notices his ankles have ostrich-like properties, he realises that the curse of the cursed hat is true and calls in his lover, a shopkeeper called Yuri Kuroyangi, to help.
Yuri examines the hat and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the sweltering elephant balancing on an old-fashioned doctor particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
R and Yuri pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded horse. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up?