One man's struggle to accept his wife's death, and the cost of bringing her back to life.
While in the process of bringing his wife, Sandra, back to the living, Arthur journals about moments from his past that changed him.
During the journal writing, he rediscovers how, as an orphan, his ability to animate objects and people to life may have ultimately destroyed the lives of the few who grew close to him. The old stuffed teddy bear that helped him assemble puzzles when he was a child might have been too much of a secret for his adoptive mother to keep. His friend Quincy, who had abilities similar to his, might have been scared away by Arthur's abilities. And his grade-school teacher is still harboring a secret about his biological father that she can only hope to be true.
In the meantime, a heinous stench takes over the communitya stench so heinous it can be fatal. As the number of deaths from the stench mounts, Arthur must decide who to animate back to life and who remains dead.