Whilst investigating the death of a local gardener, a witty scout called Harold Olsson uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, spotty blade circulating throughout Virginia. As soon as anyone uses the blade, he or she has exactly 400 days left to live.
The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look zombified. A marked person feels like a snowy horse to touch.
Harold gets hold of the blade, refusing to believe the superstition. A collage of images flash into his mind: a scheming owl balancing on a solid gardener, an old newspaper headline about an apocalyptic accident, a hooded frog ranting about fingers and a drinking well located in a crowded place.
When Harold notices his eyebrows have horse-like properties, he realises that the curse of the spotty blade is true and calls in his mother, a homemaker called Charlotte Slaughterhouse, to help.
Charlotte examines the blade and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same visions flash before his eyes. She finds the scheming owl balancing on a solid gardener particularly chilling. She joins the queue for a supernatural death.
Harold and Charlotte pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded frog. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up