Frieda Schoenhofer is very much alive after being murdered in Rotterdam and obsessed with an unusual form of revenge: resurrection.

Before she can carry out her plan she must first understand the mechanics of life and death. She embarks on an odyssey that takes her to Cornwall, Luxembourg, Avignon and back home to Bamberg where her mother is convinced Frieda needs psychiatric help.

She meets a biologist whose father took a brewing secret to the grave, teaches a hopeless human cannonball to fly, visits a re-enactment group in the midst of a feminist insurrection and helps a genealogist grapple with a treacherous family legacy.

Followed by a mysterious woman called Metze who may or may not hold the key to eternal life, Frieda struggles to understand and control mortality. The Fine Art of Necromancy is a study of perseverance in the face of inexplicable obstacles.

The book also contains a short story, The Miller's Daughter, which explains Metze's mysterious origins and her relationship to Frieda.