Rasputin "Monk" Lowdermilk wanted to end it all. But when he is run down by a car on the way to his suicide, he finds that life is just beginning. While recovering he begins to discover strange new abilities. He can draw portraits so precise they look like photographs. He can remember with flawless clarity everything he's ever seen or heard, no matter how trivial. He can read strangers so well it verges on telepathy. But with these gifts come strange visions tinged with menace. And the one thing Rasputin doesn't know is that his new abilities have been noticed, by ancient and evil forces who recognise what the gifts mean and what they will become. Unfortunately, his new life is only of benefit to them if he's dead.