Hound has a particularly strong sense of smell. He can smell the memories of people and can smell them so strongly in fact that they appear before him as if something real and touchable. In these memories, Hound can walk and talk with the ghosts of people’s past, and—this is the important part—he can make changes, both big and small, wherever he wishes. He may direct someone left instead of right, say something that had not been said before, or even remove a person or event that had bothered the memory keeper.

Men pay Hound to kill their ghosts—to destroy some of their most burdensome memories. They pay him handsomely for his services.

Recently, though, Hound has grown tired of murdering the ghosts of rich, well-to-do men. The violence has taken its toll. He is tired and wants nothing more than to settle down. He wants a simple life, freed from men’s violent histories.

He is tired of being alone with his smells. He needs a friend, someone he can talk to and confide in.

And then one day, he meets Jesse, a man with many ghosts, and together, they form a lasting, and unique, friendship in beautiful Wanaka, New Zealand.