After an unlucky collision between a coconut and the top of his head, twelve-year-old Finn not only joins the ranks of the recently deceased, but also becomes the newest student at Phantom Academy, a boarding school for ghosts.

Once Finn gets over the unfairness of still having homework (you'd think being dead would give you a pass, right?), he discovers that life--er, death?--as a ghost isn't that bad. He'd probably even enjoy it, if not for one thing: students cannot leave Phantom Academy until they graduate. He can't check on his family. He can't see his cat. In fact, he can't leave the Spirit Realm at all.

As his homesickness builds, Finn convinces his new friends they should escape. But finding the way out is harder than he anticipated, especially when their biggest clue mysteriously goes missing. Finn's not giving up, though, not with his human memories growing fuzzier and fuzzier with time. They just need to find a way through the veil...