The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Little Badger, Darcie. Elatsoe. Levine Querido. 2020. Kindle.

The novel’s perspective is third-person past with a focalized narration on Ellie, the protagonist of the novel. However, one chapter late in the novel focuses on the perspective of Ellie’s mother. Ellie is a 17-year-old high school student in the summer between her junior and senior year. She lives in a world where magic from all cultures is real. A Lipan Apache descended from a long line of strong, powerful women, Ellie has the power to call and command ghosts. Human ghosts are violent and dangerous, so she stays away from them at her mother’s warnings. However, animal ghosts are the same as they were in life. So, when her beloved dog, Kirby, passes away, Ellie calls him back to her and he remains her loyal companion and best friend. They are playing fetch when Kirby suddenly panics. Ellie worries he is sensing something bad happening to her parents, so she goes to the theater to check on them. When she gets there, her mother reveals that her cousin, Trevor, was in a terrible car accident.

That night, Trevor’s ghost appears in Ellie’s dream. He tells her that he did not die in a car accident. Instead, he was murdered by a man named Abe Allerton who lived in Willowbee. Trevor said he had only met him once, at parent-teacher conferences at the school where Trevor worked. Ellie woke up and told her parents what had happened. They trusted her and her powers, so they agreed to help her find Abe, but insisted they should wait on the police to make an official investigation first.

Ellie recruited her neighbor, Jay, to help her research. He found Abe Allerton online and told Ellie he was a well-respected doctor who lived in a mansion and hosted charity balls once a month. When Ellie arrived at Trevor’s house, his widow Lenore begged her to reach out to Trevor’s ghost. Ellie refused because a human ghost was dangerous and not the real soul of the person.

The police ruled Trevor’s death an accident. Ellie and her family buried Trevor. Abe Allerton came to the funeral. Ellie questioned him about his new car. A psychic from a reality show, Chloe Alamor, contacted the family and offered her services. She arrived at the scene of the accident and told Ellie and Lenore that Trevor had been attacked by a violent ghost. Ellie knew she was lying, so she called Jay and asked if he and his psychic aunt would come down.

Aunt Bell discovered that no accident had happened at the scene. She found the real scene of the car accident and channeled Trevor’s last words. It sounded as if Trevor were trying to help someone who was injured. Back at Lenore’s house, Ellie went through Trevor’s boxes and found his old teaching folders. Inside, there was a report from Abe’s son, Brett, on the founder of Willowbee, Nathan Grace.

Lenore went to Trevor’s grave and tried to dig up the dirt to call his ghost. Ellie took a walk in the park and accidentally slipped into the underworld. Her mother told her she could not summon any ghosts until they talked to Elder Dan.

Ellie and Jay went to the library and discovered that Nathan Grace was a doctor who had healed people miraculously. She also learned that Abe Allerton was his direct descendant. Ellie and Jay left the library and noticed that many people were staring at them. They went to Abe Allerton’s clinic and found beer bottles in the dumpster. He came out and told them to leave.

Elder Dan visited and told Ellie she had to be careful dwelling on death too much of she would risk slipping into the underworld.

After Jay found more evidence, Ellie gathered her mother and Lenore and revealed that she suspected Dr. Allerton of using magic to transfer injuries and disease from one body to another. He accepted payment from wealthy people for the service, and he preyed upon the poor. When Dr. Allerton had gotten into a drunken car accident, Trevor had pulled over to help. Dr. Allerton used his powers to transfer his injuries to Trevor.

In another dream, Trevor’s ghost visited Ellie and begged her to call him back so he could take vengeance on Dr. Allerton. Ellie refused, but his baby, Gregory, appeared in the dream and reached out to touch his father, which called Trevor’s ghost back to Earth. He told her that he would see her at Dr. Allerton’s party.

Jay’s sister Ronnie became distraught when she learned her fiancé, Al, had been kidnapped by vampires and taken to Dr. Allerton’s mansion. Ronnie and her bridesmaids came to town with Jay, and they all went with Ellie and her mother to the mansion to rescue Al. Jay and Ellie stayed in the car at first, but decided to go in when they spotted Trevor’s ghost. However, a vampire named Glorian captured them and tried to kill them inside the mansion.

Ellie called her grandmother’s mammoth and made her charge Glorian. She and Jay escaped, found Kirby, and rescued Al. Trevor’s ghost, who called himself the emissary, went into the ballroom and tried to kill Dr. Allerton’s son. Ellie stopped him and sent him back to the underworld. However, then Dr. Allerton tried to attack Ellie. She called all the dogs of her ancestors to fight off him and his cronies, then she grabbed Dr. Allerton and took him to the underworld with Kirby. Ellie returned to Earth, but she lost contact with Kirby, and he got stuck there. When she called him, he did not come. Ellie cried and went home with her family. A few months later, when school started, Ellie got a new dog, Snickers, and played fetch with him. Suddenly, Kirby appeared. Ellie was ecstatic and the dogs loved one another immediately.