The morning after Seth walks into the Pacific Ocean and is crushed on the rocks by the brutal waves, he wakes up. It is impossible, his shoulder was broken, his skull pulverized on the sharp reef near his Oregon home. He has been transported to the small English town where he grew up (and left when he was only 8 for a better life in America). Everything is exactly the same as he left it...exactly. Nothing has moved, no one has trespassed, no one has cleaned. The house is filled with dust, the lawn has grown unruly and the cabinets are full of moldy food. When he steps outside he discovers that the rest of his block, his neighborhood, his whole town, has been completely abandoned.
Seth is convinced he must be in hell, a personal hell plucked from his worst memories, that sent him into the frigid ocean in the first place. Then he meets two other survivors, although he isn't entirely convinced they aren't a part of his imagination, and begins to uncover the truth about the town that time forgot.
A very mysterious plot, it can be a little hard to follow. I thought I had my finger on it about a third of the way through and I couldn't figure out how the story was going to continue for another 250 pages...then there was a twist! Then another! Then another! The plot will keep you guessing (although not always in the best way, I did find some of the twists very confusing and not entirely believable) but in the end I was left satisfied (for the most part). It could be a little bit of a set up for sequel, not sure yet. But I think it can stand on its own if you like ambiguity.