A kid in a crypt. A demon in a basement. A dead shark, rotting in the back of a police van . . . Forensic sorcerer Frank Sampson has a problem on his hands. The boy on the mortuary slab is dead; so why doesn't he act like it? Maybe it's something to do with the bizarre magic symbols carved into his flesh. The whole affair reeks of demonic ritual. But it's hard to investigate when you're in hiding and the Society of Sorcerers has a bonfire waiting for you . . .