Creepy Serial Killer Guy (SKG) has relocated from Dallas to San Francisco so he can hunt down Paul and Katherine. The demon in his soul can't rest until it possesses Paul. But in Dallas, Paul and Katherine badly weakened it. So SKG's master needs to gain strength before attempting to take them. He prowls the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area looking for more Alices. While creepy SKG hunts Alices, Vasily Karpov conspires with Ag, King of the Unseelie Court. If they can bring over a monstrous legend from the past, even if it doesn't kill Paul, they hope to blame him for the damage and destruction, and discredit him with the senior practitioners. Paul is haunted by thoughts of a powerful rune sword. Anogh, the newly restored Summer Knight, keeps interfering in Paul's life. Sabreatha, the black fey assassin who tried to kill Paul with the heart arrow, les flèche du coeur, takes an interest in Paul and Katherine. And of course, the Summer Queen and her High Chancellor, Magreth and Cadilus, keep messing in Paul and Katherine's lives.