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 sanity, and their immortal souls. Not necessarily in that order, of course.