Since Clea went missing seven years ago, Michael Sleep follows the same daily routine. He works at the DIY shop, goes to visit his dad, Brian, at the care home, then returns to his cluttered house and wonders if he will ever see his girlfriend again. But one day, Clea's brother shows up threatening to disrupt the status quo.
A strange discovery on a roundabout prompts Michael to convert his garden shed into an alchemist's laboratory and attempt to generate homunculi from the recipe in his dad's old journal. But his neighbour Clive is getting suspicious and starts to sniff around. Kacey invites Michael to the pub, where they drink too much and he reveals to his workmates much more than he should about his mysterious experiment. Meanwhile, back at Marvin Gardens, something strange is starting to happen in the shed.
Michael's car is out of action, and on the walk to work, he witnesses a crime. When something at work upsets Kacey, she and Michael escape to Pickles Cafe for some quiet time, where she confesses her deepest secret. Meanwhile, Brian has had a visitor at the care home but can't remember who it was, Clive is obsessing about chaffinches and a puddle of oil that sometimes looks like a rabbit, and Kacey visits Marvin Gardens to see the prophets and is shocked by what she is shown.
The prophets have to be buried in horse manure to make them grow, and Clive is at the end of his tether when a truckload of the stuff is dumped at the front of Michael's house. But Bev is intrigued and wants to be involved. On the way back from work, Michael narrowly avoids being robbed when the would-be assailant mistakes him for someone else. When Kacey comes round to help bury the jars and asks Michael about the boxes hoarded in his house, he opens up about Clea and the life he once dreamed of.
Strange things are happening in Marvin Gardens, and it's starting to attract attention. Who threw barbecue coals on Clive and Bev's drive, and who are the serious-looking visitors in the blacked-out SUV? Gordon threatens to fire Michael, Brian has received a letter from a ghost, and a hole in the roof leads to a discovery. It's time for Kacey and Michael to exhume the prophets from their pile of manure to see if they have reached the ‘state of divination' and the ability to predict the future.
The bottled prophets are looking unwell, and Michael still hasn't asked his questions. Brian is causing havoc at the nursing home and warns Michael and Kacey that time is of the essence, but on their return, all hell has broken out in Marvin Gardens. The cul-de-sac is crammed full of vehicles, strangers and irate neighbours. The king has escaped from his jar and has to be recaptured before it is too late. It seems like the end of the line - or maybe the start of a new adventure.