McGillicuddy and Murder's Pawn Shop is set in 1921. Maude, the main character and narrator, gets a diary and begins to write in it. The only problem is, her life is boring. She types all day until her fingers are sore, and then comes home, sleeps, and does it all over again. She wishes her life was an adventure. And it isn't.

That is, until one day, when she discovers an unusual pawn shop. She finds a tiny fragment of china—with nothing on it but a bright blue eye

.Maude takes the china eye home with her, little realizing that she's cursed herself straight into a brand new life.