When Nick Spencer stumbles upon Bargains, the odd little back street shop seems like the perfect place to buy the present he's been searching for. And when the shopkeeper wants to take some of Nick's artwork instead of money for payment, he's even happier.

But Nick soon realizes that the deal he's made is not quite the bargain he thought it was. His drawing skills have disappeared, and when he returns to the shop he finds himself trapped into a job he didn't sign up for, collecting debts for the mysterious Mr Grey. As his assignments grow steadily more and more traumatic and the shop takes over more and more of his life, the question becomes not when he'll earn his way out . . . but if he'll ever get out at all.