The title for this 12th volume in the Dresden Files series is most appropriate. Harry Dresden is about to find that his whole world is about to change, and it all starts with the return of his former girlfriends, Susan Rodriguez. The two had met years (and books) earlier when she was a reporter for a local paranormal magazine. They quickly fell in love and romance blossomed. Things went awry when Susan was caught up with one of Harry's battles with the various vampire sects, particularly the Red Court. Susan was attacked and now lives in some midway transition between being human and turning vampire. As long as she doesn't take a human victim. She had run off to make a place for herself in South America with her new condition.

Harry is a little bit excited to hear from Susan, but he is also a little worried because he not really sure what this means. When she arrives, she has a surprise for him. They have a 6-year-old daughter named Maggie that Harry knew nothing about, and Maggie has been taken prisoner by the Red Court. The Duchess Anna Ortega, who ranks high in the Red Court, has decided that this would be a great way to get revenge on Harry for killing her husband.

While Harry knew nothing about Maggie, his paternal instincts kick in, and he is willing to do anything to get her back into safety. He starts by calling together a wide range of allies: his White Court brother Thomas, his angelic dog Mouse, his sidekick/trainee, Karrin Murphy of the Chicago Police Department, a Defender of the Faith, his crazy faerie godmother, and his reliable demon-in-a-scull computer. Together, along with a wide range of recurring characters from the series, they sort out what is going on as it becomes a race against time to save the little girl from becoming a human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ceremony.

This is definitely a typical Dresden novel filled with action, magic, and no shortage of sarcastic humor. With that said, it definitely seems to run quite a bit darker than most of the books in the series. A lot of this has to do with the fact that many of the background subplots relating to the war between the Red Court and the White Council of sorcerors is coming to a head, but it also has to do with the place that Harry is finding himself in. Over the last few books, he has been confronted with situations in which he has made great sacrifices, and this book continues the trend.

It was a good book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as most of the previous books. I am curious to see where Harry and his gang are going to end up in future books, particularly after the strong cliffhanger in which the book concluded.