Clay Middleton has made a career as a wilderness artist with his paintings of the American southwest. His remote desert journeys have also earned him the reputation of a deranged man who is best avoided. The reputation suits him, however, as other than for his immediate family, he prefers the company of cacti, coyotes, and sidewinders to the company of man. His idyllic life comes to an end when his wife dies, and his daughter abandons her son to his care. He believes things cannot get worse. He is wrong. His grandson is kidnapped by three supernatural beings, and Clay alone possesses the means to rescue the boy. But to do so, he must endure the incessant chatter of a young paranormal investigator as they pursue the kidnappers across alternate post-apocalyptic Earths in a race against the countdown to universal destruction. ,