Harry Dresden comes back for a ninth time with another action packed tale. He is brought into an investigation of what appears to be a suicide by his good friend, Karrin Murphy of the Chicago police department. A qucik review of the murder scene brings up evidence, in the form of a hidden Bible quote, that indicates that there was more to the death than meets the eye.

In a short amount of time and help from Murphy and his new apprentice Molly, he learns that someone is targetting the lesser magic users in the area. In the process, he connects up with his former girlfriend Elaine Mallory, who has been hired by the Ordu. The Ordu seems to be a coven a minor witch-like magic users. As they delve deeper into what is turning out to be a series of murders, they learn that Thomas, Harry's half-vampiric brother, is the primary suspect. Before long, they find themselves drown into the heavy intrigues of the psychic vampires of the White Court, leading to a final battle with ultimate evil.

The story is one of the best in the series. Lots of humor and no shortage of returning secondary characters allow for a great deal of character development for Harry and the gang and a true question of what it means to be good or evil.