Brillian Alaneme has just solved one of the minor historical mysteries of space: What happened to the long-range transport freighter Talladessner? But when she sets down on the desolate asteroid where the long-lost vessel ultimately came to rest, she finds not the missing starship but a house, and not just any house, but a haunted house, straight out of a creaky 1940s' B-movie. It seems like it must be a delusion, or a hoax, but what dwells within this house is no joke, and even the timely arrival of the not-quite-as-mysterious-as-he'd-have-us-believe cosmic do-gooder Mr. K and his lovely associate Lillian may not be enough to prevent the loss of all their lives, their very sanity, and their immortal souls. Not necessarily in that order, of course.