Anna Wheaton lies in the snow at the bottom of Cemetery Hill, badly injured in a sledding accident. The life of a nine-year-old child who has known only innocence, love, and joy is about to be shattered again by violence and tragedy. But in the shadowland between life and death, Anna will discover an extraordinary power -- and a kinship with others who share her gift and her curse.

They are called Jumpers, able to leap instantly into an alternate reality -- a realm of the fantastic, the frightening, and the glorious, where legions of the dead mingle with the living. In this beautiful, terrifying place, the Jumpers will meet armies of restless souls and a dark, monstrous force called the Shadow Monster. There, Anna -- and a handful of others like her -- are about to wave teh ultimate battle to defeat the Shadow Monster and change the fate of the living on earth.