August DuPont has spent his whole life inside a dilapidated house with his aunt Hydrangea. His lonely existence ends abruptly with a surprise invitation to meet an aunt and cousins he didn't even know existed. When newfound Aunt Orchid suggests that August attend school with his cousins, it's a dream come true. But August has scarcely begun to celebrate his good fortune when he is confronted by a small problem on his way home. A small, very undead problem.