In the middle of his family's murder, a baby escapes his crib and wanders down to the old graveyard. He is hidden from the man Jack by the graveyard's occupants--ghosts. As the baby cannot be turned back into the night where he will surely be killed, the ghosts come to a decision: he shall be given the freedom of the graveyard.

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The boy, named Nobody, is raised by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a ghost couple who never had children but loved him as a son. His Guardian, Silas, protects him and provides him with everything he needs.

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It's looking like a pretty swell life. Bod plays with the younger ghosts, learns to read off headstones and befriends the ghost of a young witch named Liza. He even finds a friend among the living: Scarlet.

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But as the years pass and Bod grows older, he cannot escape his past. An encounter with the man Jack must come, and even Silas can't protect him from its inevitability.

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Neil Gaiman's story is based loosely upon the idea of The Jungle Book.