The Puppet Master has turned Ion's childhood home into a carnival of carnage, and with the young vampire blamed for the atrocities, Abel must seek help from the only other vampire he's ever let live.

Ion and Esther find themselves unwitting pawns in an elaborate plot to murder the Empress. As treachery emerges from shadow, so does a ghost from Ester's past.

Esther and Ion are freed from prison, and the true identity of the Empress is revealed. When she joins Abel in battle against Dietrich, secrets of the past come to light.