Mondirra is a city on the brink of destruction. While magic wanes and science leaps forward, the church and the university are about to come to blows, and the veil of progress hides deep cracks in the foundation of the world.

Isabel is a Sentinel of Ondir, the god of death. Armed with bell, book, and candle, her duty is to call up the restless souls of the departed and send them on to the afterlife. An urgent summons in the middle of the night brings her to the city to ask the ghost of a murdered vagabond if he saw his killer before he died. It's a routine call, until the spirit appears in fragments, torn asunder by magic that should not exist.

Berend was once a Son of Galaser, a member of the most prestigious mercenary company on the continent. Now, the Sons are no more, and only a handful of his former companions remain. The man in pieces on the embalming table waiting for the Sentinel was one of them. He'll stop at nothing to find justice for his comrade's death, but steel and shot won't help him against dark magic and demons out of old legends. He needs the Sentinel, and the Sentinel needs him, if they're both going to survive what comes next.

Together, they must hunt down a murderer and discover the secrets the city hides, even as it comes apart around them.