Marley Whitaker has been dead for a very long time, but the afterlife has done nothing to improve her manners.She slips into London homes, steals ice cream, ignores the rules of the underworld, and has developed an inconvenient fascination with Robert Martell, a history teacher who initially refuses to believe ghosts exist. His disbelief lasts until Marley begins talking to him, touching his belongings, and cheerfully surviving every ridiculous attempt he makes to banish her.