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His death more than a century ago apparently hasn't stopped Ambrose Bierce from wishing to produce new literature. Unfortunately, existence as a spirit means he can't do anything. He lacks a human form and all the capabilities thereof. Recent renovations to the house he's been haunting force him to seek a new home. But the late-nineteenth-century Virginia mansion has a fresh tragedy of its own, a widow in mortal danger, and two murderous conmen to contend with. Mercifully for Suzanne Hurd, Bierce isn't the only inhabitant of the afterlife nearby. His best friend, Sid (a Buddhist monk who lived 2,500 years ago) and Kiki, a recent victim of a drunk driver, pool their limited abilities to save her life and avenge her husband Dave's murder. And as he spends more time between worlds, learning from and philosophizing with those who've gone before, Bierce discovers he has one last story to tell.
Bridges, with a background in English and psychiatry, dispenses with the stereotyped portrayals of ghosts as either forlorn lost souls or malevolent pranksters. His spirits are thoughtful beings who subtly develop supernatural gifts to help the living as the story progresses. The plot brings together great people from different eras. Sid is Bridges' tongue-in-cheek nod to Siddhartha, Buddhism's founder, while Bierce comes from the Victorian age and American Civil War. Kiki hails from the present day. Soldier and author Bierce disappeared in Mexico in 1914. Nobody knows exactly how or when he died. Humorously, Sid says that not even Bierce himself knows how he died. Bridges borrows portions of text directly from several of Bierce's short stories. He italicizes the excerpts and provides attribution in footnotes. Anyone fond of Bierce's work and willing to entertain this as a possible postmortem scenario for him will likely enjoy this novel.