A slave is a slave, whether living or undead, so Jonathan Alvey bristles when an unknown novice necromancer turns up in New Hades. Despite their obvious talent, Alvey is forced to clean up the messes the rogue leaves behind. He must find the culprit and put an end to their attempts, before they succeed and put an end to Jonathan himself.

But Alvey has problems enough of his own. As he battles his addiction to magic, and the withdrawals that may very well kill him, malignant gnomes infest his building and are out for his blood. A simple divorce case turns into a murder investigation. Why would the victim, a meticulous practitioner, create a spell book pocked with inaccuracies? Why would an unknown assailant do anything to get it? Alvey must solve the mystery, and keep himself and his client alive until he can.