Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent from Chicago to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilirating.

Twelve-year-old Spade is a grave thief that gets caught up in a royal heist. Along the way, he meets Ember, the queen's niece, and together they race to solve the mystery of the legendary Deepstones and their connection to the deadly Woegon, the queen, a missing king and the mysterious pebble Spade finds in the Wyndhail cemetery.

Describes how a counterfeiting ring plotted to ransom Lincoln's body to secure the release of their imprisoned ringleader, and how a fledging Secret Service and an undercover agent conducted a daring election-night sting operation.