Caelan is back under the pretence that he is Valkyrie's guardian angel causing more danger than good as a mysterious ring holds the key to a strange past, present and future intertwining new vampires with timeless affairs.

***SPOILER ALERT*** DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE NEWEST SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT BOOK!!! When Nefarian Serpine killed Skulduggery's family, nobody knew how he'd react. And not even the best sensitive in the world could have predicted that Skulduggery Pleasant would take on a new identity: Lord Vile...

What if skulduggery wasn't the only one who returned from death? What if his beloved wife also returned?

Chased by a hideous monster down a dark alley isn't most teenagers average activity, but then again, Hex, Belle and Scarlett-Rose aren't average. Already aware of their powers and the world of magic, waiting just beside the ordinary one, the girls meet wise-cracking skeleton detective, Skulduggery Pleasant, who happens to have the unfortunate habbit of attracting trouble. The three young sorcerers have no problem with this, there's plenty of action, and even more people to hit. Everythings great... yeah, right. The bad guys turn up, as most bad guys do, and start breaking things, with the slight difference from your normal hostage takers, bank robbers, etc... Their asking for a weapon of mass destruction, a weapon they very well know doesn't exist anymore. Things are getting serious as mutiple attacks on the Roarhaven Scantuary arrise. Can Hex, Belle, and Scarlett figure out what these dangerous lunatics want before they acheive it?