John Patterson thinks he damn well earned his pension. He survived more than twenty years as a police forensic wizard, tracking down and fighting the worst that criminal magic could throw at him. If he could only retire the nightmares, as well. Some of those nightmares feature Albert Kratz, alias Albertus Magnus, a psychopathic criminal mage Patterson trapped in a burning building years ago. So why is a dead man leaving his unique magical signature on the grisly "artistic" murder of a diplomatic courier? Detective Sergeant Nef Cash recognizes that crime scene from old file photos and drags Patterson out of retirement to fight a deadly enemy one more time. Cash has her own motives besides police work, and her move will turn his personal life inside out.