It is the late 1900s, and strange occurrences of “resurrection of the dead” are occurring all over the United States. Amidst this, Smiley Barleycorn, the immensely wealthy founder of Smile Cemetery in the New England town of Tombsville, is on his deathbed. His family has been summoned and Smiley’s grandchild Francis (a.k.a. Grin) visits his grandfather along with his beloved. There Grin witnesses the neglect of the dying master of the house and the unfolding of ugly family disputes over the inheritance of the huge estate. On the day of a Family Tea Party, Grin drinks tea that has been poisoned and breathes his last quietly in his room, but is soon resurrected as one of the living dead. Grin thinks that he may have gotten caught up in a planned murder over succession to property, and, while concealing from those around him that he has already died once, tries to uncover the truth behind the incident. Meanwhile the victims, the suspects, and even the detectives are dying and resurrecting one after another . . . An unparalleled masterpiece of a mystery.