Shadow is a man on the verge of release from prison when his beloved wife and best friend die in a mysterious car crash. He is released and set adrift when he meets Wednesday- a strange fellow who hires Shadow to journey across America with him and do odd tasks on his behalf. As it turns out, the gods of the different religions and mythologies are real so long as they are believed in and Shadow has been pulled into the war between “old world” gods and modern gods in America. As a war for the soul of America begins to form, Shadow learns that the past never dies and the world is a dangerous place.