The small town of Craftborough was founded in 1718 as a haven where witches could escape persecution. It became home to the first coven in North America, and established Saufgrove—an all-girls boarding school that specializes in teaching witchcraft. Olivia Oliversen, a young witch from a prestigious family, had the honor of growing up there. And she despises it. The first year of her apprenticeship to Jack Noctis is finished, and her coven has invited her back to give her report. Olivia never would’ve considered going, but one of her friends is missing. Big Jacky says that he’s still alive, but to save him, Olivia will have to do the one thing she’d hate most—swallow her pride and return to the home she swore she’d never go back to. As her master, Big Jacky has to come, but if Olivia wants the best hope of finding out what’s going on, she’ll also have to ask Emerra Cole for help. Make that the two things she’d hate most.

During a routine spring cleaning, an accident triggers a century-old spell, cutting the Noctis mansion off from the outside world. The power’s out. Supplies are limited. Emerra Cole and the other five people trapped inside must unravel the mystery of the spell and find a way to reverse it before things become critical. But the spell isn’t done with them yet. A violent horde of undead is rising, and they’re drawn to the living. Outside the mansion, Big Jacky, Darius, and Olivia are doing everything they can to reach their friends, and they’ve enlisted a team of powerful magicians to help. Unfortunately, the one person who can help them the most is the one they trust the least.

The Noctis mansion is death’s home and a haven for supernatural creatures. It’s used to strange visitors and strange requests—but this is the first time that anyone has asked to borrow Kappa, the two-foot-tall bog-monster that has lived with Big Jacky for years. Benjamin Gladwyn is the mayor of a small town in Louisiana. The bog-monsters that live in the neighboring Sauvage Preserve have started invading the town at night. No one knows why they’re doing it or how to stop them, but if they aren’t stopped soon, the secret of their existence will be exposed to the increasingly paranoid townsfolk. Since Kappa can speak, he might be the link the Torr needs to work with the colony. But Emerra Cole isn’t about to let Kappa head out into a strange swamp alone, and Big Jacky doesn’t trust Emerra to keep herself out of trouble, so they ask the wolfman, Conrad Bauer, to help. When Conrad, Emerra, and Kappa go down to Fort Rive, they find a town full of rumors and a swamp haunted by the weight of its own secrets. They have to learn what’s going on before things go from bad to catastrophic.