Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything a person could dream of. She is engaged to James Herondale—the one she’s loved since she was a child. Beside her is her best friend, Lucy Herondale, with Cortana close at hand, and at her side. And the father whom Cordelia had missed so much has finally come home. But behind this celebratory picture lies a completely different reality—far darker.
Her marriage to James is just a deception, one she must agree to in order to save Cordelia’s reputation. Cortana burns her mistress’s hand the moment she touches it. And her father’s return turns out to be nothing like what Cordelia expected.
London is restless as well. On the city’s grim streets, a serial killer appears—hunting Shadowhunters… and there are already victims. Cordelia, James, and Lucy try to stop the criminal—while also keeping their own secrets: each of them has her own, terrifying one that could change too much, forever.