Dentist Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When he dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, Pincus wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.
After squandering his grant money, despondent and recently widowed anthropologist James Krippendorf must produce hard evidence of the existence of a heretofore undiscovered New Guinea tribe. Grass skirts, makeup, and staged rituals transform his three troubled children into the Shelmikedmu, a primitive culture whose habits enthrall scholars. But when a spiteful rival threatens to blow the whistle on Krippendorf's ruse, he gets into the act as well.