In a small town out west, Odd Thomas works as a short-order cook at the Pico Mundo Grill. But he also communicates with ghosts, and has a particular talent for scoping out bad spirits called bodachs. When he finds a clutch of them hanging around with a stranger who has come to town, Odd starts to worry--and before long, he finds evidence that the stranger may be a serial killer. The question is, who's next? And can Odd stop the new wave of violence before it starts?