Dixie Grim is a thirteen-year-old with a Gothic edge who navigates a world shaped by her recently divorced father, a mortician who wants to connect with her but struggles to break through Dixie’s guarded shell. She carries a quiet ache for the boy in her school, Ray, who doesn’t seem to notice her at all, and she guards her heart behind dark clothes, snarky humor, and a fierce independence that feels safer than admitting how much she hurts. The fragile balance of Dixie’s life is upended when she witnesses her former best friend, Julia, seemingly flirting with Ray. The moment stings, and Dixie’s impulsive reaction—running away from the scene—unleashes a chain of events that will pull her into a world she never imagined.
A sudden forest tragedy changes everything: a tree collapses, and Dixie awakens in a graveyard to discover that she has become a zombie. The transformation is startling, but Dixie’s curiosity is even more alive. She soon befriends a mysterious Egyptian mummy named Isis and discovers that she can wield the Azoth, a powerful magic amulet with the chilling potential to rewind death itself. Enthralled by what the Azoth can do, she and Isis begin to experiment, teasing out its limits and testing its boundaries. Their cautious curiosity draws them toward a new companionship, and they set their sights on finding another zombie to use as a test subject, chasing what feels like a strange, exhilarating new form of power.
On this strange path, Dixie crosses paths with Gonner, a zombie pirate whose charm catches her off guard even as he steals her treasured necklace. The betrayal lands hard, tearing at Dixie’s heart and breaking more than just trust—the act physically harms her as well, leaving scars that remind her of the risks of trusting the wrong ally. In the aftermath, she finds herself separated from Isis, unaware that Gonner’s theft was actually a protective move: he had only taken the Azoth to shield Dixie from a greater danger, the cruel witch Nebulosa.
A kind-hearted zombie named Vitriol steps in to help, repairing Dixie and guiding her toward Nebulosa. The journey to confront the witch unfolds as a perilous carnival of fear and pain: Dixie must walk through a carnival funhouse that forces her to face the wounds she carries inside. It is a crucible that tests her resilience, and she emerges with a stronger sense of self. Along the way, Dixie’s resolve grows as she reconciles with Gonner and works to rescue him from Nebulosa’s reach after overhearing him confess that he truly loves her. The budding bond between Dixie and Gonner strengthens as they work together, and they manage to recover the Azoth in their quest.
The trio—Dixie, Isis, and Gonner—locate Isis, who is cornered by Nebulosa. The danger intensifies as Nebulosa threatens to destroy Isis, forcing Dixie into a desperate plan. After a tense confrontation, Dixie and her companions destroy Piroska, Nebulosa’s apprentice, which clears a path to safety. In a daring move, Dixie unintentionally opens a portal that lets all three escape Nebulosa’s clutches and step back into the world they know.
Dixie wakes up alive and wonders if the entire odyssey was merely a dream. Only when she discovers that Isis and Gonner truly exist does she accept that her journey was real. The revelations about the other side—Isis survives and goes on to marry King Tut, while Gonner abandons piracy to become a poet—reframe Dixie’s understanding of courage, loyalty, and the power of following one’s dreams. Gonner’s wish to share those dreams with Dixie remains at the heart of his transformation, and Dixie faces the future with a renewed, hopeful outlook, eager to carry memories of friendship, love, and the strange magic she discovered along the way.
