Future Atlanta is an interesting place to live: one moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters.

Here skyscrapers topple under the onslaught of magic; the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst for knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

Kate Daniels likes her sword a little too much and she has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target and she's spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe, or to risk her life by pursuing his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy...