She may have left the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid; she may (finally) be officially mated to the Beast Lord—but she still has her attack poodle, Grendel, and 'shoot first, ask questions later' Andrea in her corner...and in Kate Daniel's magic-blasted Atlanta, the mayhem always remains the same. Work has been slow at Kate's new business, but things get messy quickly when a rogue vampire shows up on Kate's doorstep and Ghastek, Atlanta's premier Master of the Dead, presents a little problem: his handlers have mysteriously been losing control, and this is not an isolated incident. Almost immediately another tricky case lands in her lap, courtesy of a furtive visit from an elite member of the Red Guard, who needs her help finding a kidnapped scientist and the mysterious device he's been working on. Oh, and something is eating magic wards. As Kate dives into action, she discovers that she may be at the beginning of The End; and that Atlanta is sure to be destroyed if she can't connect the right dots, and stop a powerful—and vengeful—group determined to wipe out the entire magic community.