Corran, Rigan and Kell Valmonde have been orphaned - their father murdered by the city guard, their mother slain by monsters - and left to run the family business alone. Undertakers, gifted with ancient grave magic, they help souls pass into the After.
Their home city of Ravenwood is a battleground for decadent princes and powerful guilds, and for Lord Mayor Ellor Machison, who crouches at the heart of it all like a bloated spider. The city has long been beset by monsters - flesh-eating ghouls, hideous snake-fiends, monstrous maggots - yet the city guards do nothing.
When the toll climbs too high, it's up to the people to take arms and defend themselves. But in fighting for their lives, the Valmonde brothers become targets in a deadly game, and must risk everything to survive.
