When Corran, Rigan, and their friends became outlaw monster hunters and fled beyond the walls of Ravenwood City, they thought they had defeated the source of the abominations that killed so many of their friends and loved ones. But the more successful they become at destroying the creatures, the more they realize that greater evil is at work.

The city state of Ravenwood is wealthy, powerful, and corrupt. Ambitious and ruthless leaders use betrayal and assassination to gain their ends. Blood magic conjures monsters to further the goals of the ruling class, and stolen power is paid for by the deaths of commoners. But now the magic extracts too high a toll, merchant princes scheme against each other, smugglers and pirates threaten the trade that holds the kingdom together, and old alliances shatter. Darkhurst's wastrel king seems ill-suited to stop the collapse of the merchant league and the kingdom itself.

When fanatic priests begin a reign of terror to summon ravenous beings and cause the unmaking of the world, Corran, Rigan, and their friends face an impossible task. They must bind the monstrous First Being, stop the priests from bringing about their blood-soaked reckoning, and put a king on the throne that will end the cull forever. The price of failure is the destruction of Darkhurst and the world itself.