Life begins at 40-but so do bad joints, wrinkles, and gray hairs. They say that by the age of forty you should have gained the skills and experience to have a better life. But the only thing I've gained is a job promotion to permanent desk jockey until retirement. I thought I escaped my mediocre destiny when I met my husband . . . until he died on our honeymoon and a series of unfortunate events left me with a strange mark on my body and my husband's corpse stolen right out of the funeral home! When I discover a mysterious invitation to a place called the Vale Estates at my door from a long-lost grandmother I had never met. I was ready to toss it away as a scam until I read the words: Your husband's death was not an accident. Desperate for answers, I pack up and go. But to discover the truth, I'm forced to live in a bizarre estate full of restless ghosts and a creepy goat-legged caretaker while enduring a trial of magic with death as a punishment for failure. But I'm not a mage! Or at least, I thought. I guess it's not too late to learn something new.