A loopy quartet of bossy ancestors swooped down on six-year-old Jeff Beekle immediately after he shot his abusive stepfather. Thirty years later, Jeff is still traumatized by the killing and is still following the advice of his ghostly forebears.

Writing for a cheesy Boston tabloid, Jeff fabricates a whimsical tale about a mob-built CIA prison for ghosts.

Which turns out to be true.

Now both the mob and the CIA have Jeff in their sights.

Even worse, Jeff discovers that his great-grandmother is an inmate of the prison, and that she and the other spectral residents are being groomed as CIA spies (And why not? They're invisible, draw no salary and won't hop into bed with enemy agents.)

To his horror, Jeff learns that ancestors held too long in earthly captivity will vanish as if they were never born, taking with them all their descendants...which includes him.

Can Jeff outwit the mob and the CIA, free his ghostly ancestors, destroy the prison and save himself?