Catherine Brell has journeyed with her fiancé Bahru to Diabolusia, where Bahru is to take up a position as a taricheutes — a preparer of the dead — at the palatial estate of Anubeion. Her engagement had been arranged by her family but Catherine finds she has deep reservations about Bahru, whose interests seemed to lie more in young boys than in the woman he is to marry.

Prince Khenty is the Lord of the Silent Lands of the West. He is the earthly representative of Anubis, the God of the Dead. For centuries the men of his family have been the companions of the dead, escorting them to the Afterlife. Until he meets Catherine, he does not know what it truly means to be alive.

As Khenty's housekeeper, Nyria has been the prince's only female companion for many years and her jealousy knows no boundaries. Her hatred of the growing affection forming between the lovely Catherine and Khenty will drive the housekeeper to murderous rage. If the prince cannot be hers and hers alone, she will take his life and join him as a shade in the world beyond.