Plot summary
After accidentally acquiring a stray puppy from a kidnapped litter of Tibetan temple dogs, Harry Dresden accepts a job from his White Court acquaintance, Thomas Raith, to investigate a series of deaths on a pornography film set led by director Arturo Genosa. After an entropy curse arrives and almost kills two more people, Lara Raith, another White Court vampire, appears as a replacement actress, discovers Dresden's presence, and soon decides to kill both Harry and Thomas for being involved. However, a surprise Black Court attack forces a truce between them and they flee to the Raith's Chicago mansion for safety. There, Dresden learns that Thomas is his half-brother and escapes an assassination attempt by Lord Raith, Thomas' and Lara's father. Soon after, Dresden finds a pattern to the curses and prepares a counterattack, but one of Genosa's ex-wives prevents him from saving the next target and frames him for the woman's death. He escapes and works out that all of Genosa's ex-wives are behind the curse, with Lord Raith supporting them. Before the next curse can be unleashed against him, Dresden calls upon Murphy to help him stop Lord Raith and maneuvers Lara to save them all from her father.
At the same time, Harry has discovered a newly established nest of Black Court vampires, led by a very old and dangerous vampire named Mavra. To wipe out the nest before it becomes entrenched, he enlists the help of his friend Karrin Murphy, the mercenary Jared Kincaid, and his mentor Ebenezar McCoy, discovering that Kincaid and McCoy have already met. Despite almost getting blown up and burned to death, the crew successfully battle Mavra, destroy the nest, and rescue the children that had been taken as hostages. At the end, Thomas saves Harry by paying Kincaid's fee using his entire savings.
Synopsis
Dresden and Thomas, after meeting for dinner, rescue a litter of pups from a group of demon gorillas, and deliver them to Brother Wang, their owner, just as he is leaving. On the ride home Dresden finds another pup hiding in the car, who alerts Dresden to a vampire attack. Thomas introduces Dresden to a friend, Arturo Genosa, who produces erotic films. Arturo, who believes someone is out to kill him, suspecting them to be a strega, or a practitioner of Italian folk witchcraft. He hires Dresden to investigate the suspicious deaths of two women he feels were killed in his place. Dresden will pose as a production assistant to investigate and apprehend the murderer along with Thomas.
Deciding that the Black Court vampires need to be killed as quickly as possible, Dresden enlists Murphy to help him hunt down and destroy the vampires. He also hires Kincaid, and later calls on Ebenezar McCoy to be a wheelman and counter Mavra's magic. The next day, Dresden shows up early at the film studio. When the next curse hits the studio, Dresden is able to intervene and save the lives of two of the stars, but they are badly hurt and electrically scarred. Dresden realizes that Arturo is not the target of the curses, but rather the women in his life. Later, while collecting information, someone tries to murder Dresden with a blowgun dart.
One of the replacement actresses is the attractive Lara Romany (Lara Raith, a White Court vampire), along with her sister, Inari, and Thomas. Seeing a form flee the studio, Dresden gives chase and tackles Thomas. Thinking Thomas is using Dresden as a cats-paw, Dresden beats Thomas badly and is ambushed by Lara. She shoots Thomas. Before she can shoot Dresden, they are jumped by Mavra's minions. They escape, but Thomas is dying, as he used up his energy reserves in the fight. Inari's arm is shattered. Lara and Dresden evacuate them to the Raith mansion for medical attention. Lara offers Dresden the hospitality and protection of her home. Lord Raith, her father and the King of the White Court vampires, is not bound by her word. Later, Raith sends a drugged Inari to feed on Dresden, but she is burned by touching him.
Thomas arrives just in time to hustle Inari away and explains that Dresden is still protected by Susan's love. In Lord Raith's gallery, he shows Dresden the painting of their mother, Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay. Thomas is Dresden's half-brother, which Harry does not believe. Still disbelieving, Dresden soulgazes Thomas. During the soulgaze, they both receive a planted message from their mother: help each other. Dresden agrees to help Thomas save Inari from Lord Raith, learning that, if Inari falls truly in love before she feeds, the vampire curse will be lifted, and she will never become a White Court Vampire.
The next morning, Dresden meets Kincaid and Lt. Murphy to coordinate the raid on Mavra before hurrying back to the studio to prevent the next curse. He drafts Jake into helping draw a magical lightning rod. Jake mentions that Arturo is getting married for the fourth time. Dresden confirms with Murphy that Arturo has a marriage license for Thursday. The fax is blurred, so she cannot read the name of the bride-to-be. Unlike the prior three wives, this Mrs. Genosa was not required to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. If Arturo dies, she will inherit everything, which is the motive for trying to kill her before she can marry Arturo. Trixie then surprises Dresden at gunpoint, so he cannot interfere with the curse, and Trixie has destroyed his spell shield. Dresden is facing not one, but three Strega. Trixie and her co-conspirators, Arturo's other ex-wives Madge and Lucille, have no idea who Arturo is marrying, so they are killing all the women around him. The next curse will kill Emma. Desperate to save her, Dresden jumps Trixie. She fires wildly, killing Emma.
Trixie thrusts the gun into Dresden's hand and screams that he killed Emma. The entire cast and crew see him holding the gun. Dresden flees, handing the gun off to Joan as he runs out the door, giving her a brief synopsis of what Trixie has done. Back at his apartment, Bob gives Dresden the location and a site map of the vampire hideout in a homeless shelter. He and Ebenezar pick up Murphy from her family picnic and rendezvous with Kincaid. Kincaid and Ebenezar know each other from before, and share mutual hatred. Although they almost erupt into violence, they give their word to Dresden for a temporary truce until they can shut down Mavra and her scourge. Impersonating Red Cross workers, Kincaid and Murphy evacuate the homeless people and shelter staff from the ground floor. Ebenezar keeps the truck running while they go into the basement lair, finding a group of imprisoned children. Mavra and her henchmen ambush them with flamethrowers, setting the building on fire. Dresden's shield keeps the flamethrower from physically reaching them, but it fails to stop the intense heat from passing through, and incinerates his left hand. Dresden sends the flame back at the vampires, and he and Kincaid manage to overpower them. Gathering the children, they flee the burning building.
Kincaid leaves, giving Dresden three days to pay him or die. Murphy and Dresden take the rescued children to Fr. Forthill. Ebenezar explains that a Blackstaff is the White Council's assassin, allowed to break the Laws of Magic as he sees fit to protect the Council. Also, he tells Dresden that his mother, Margaret LeFay, was his apprentice. And finally, Margaret was murdered by Lord Raith, but that Raith is spectacularly protected from magic, and even Margaret's death curse didn't seem to do anything.
Dresden coopts Lara to overthrow her father, and finds Madge and Trixie with Raith and Thomas in the Deeps. They plan to sacrifice Thomas to kill Dresden with a final curse, freeing Lord Raith from Margaret's death curse, which has prevented Raith from feeding for years, leaving him extraordinarily weak. Madge kills Trixie with a spell, then summons He Who Walks Behind to kill Dresden, but the spell is interrupted, and the Outsider kills Madge, fleeing into the night. Lara arrives, and enthralls Raith, who is too weak to defend himself. She makes her father into a puppet, so their enemies won't see any weakness in House Raith or the White Court. Banished from House Raith, Thomas moves into Dresden's apartment and pays off Dresden's debt to Kincaid as thanks for saving his life. Dresden decides to keep the puppy, naming it Mouse, and learns from Bob that his previous touching of a Denarian coin has given him access to powerful Hellfire magic.
The Dresden Files, a contemporary fantasy/mystery novel series written by American author Jim Butcher, features a wide cast of characters. The book series was also made into a live-action television series which ran in 2007.
Storm Front is a 2000 fantasy novel by American writer Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series, and it follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard. The novel was later adapted into a pilot for a SyFy channel television series, though Jim Butcher felt the writers were not attempting to recreate the novel on a "chapter by chapter or even story by story basis".
Grave Peril is a 2001 urban fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the third novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.
Death Masks is a 2003 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the fifth novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.
Small Favor is the tenth book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. The book stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 3 weeks following its release, attaining the number 2 spot during its first week. Small Favor is available as an eBook and an audio CD (ISBN 0-14-314339-5).
Summer Knight is a 2002 New York Times Bestselling contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the fourth novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.
Dead Beat is the 7th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Dresden. It is available in print and e-book.
Proven Guilty is the 8th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. It had a release date of May 2, 2006.
White Night is the 9th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.
Turn Coat is the 11th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Dresden. It debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction.
O Beijo do Vampiro is a Brazilian telenovela that was produced and aired by Rede Globo from August 26, 2002 to May 3, 2003, totaling 215 chapters, substituting Desejos de Mulher and preceding Kubanacan.
Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse is a 2006 horror film by The Asylum, written and directed by Leigh Scott. Despite featuring Bram Stoker's name in the title, the film is not directly based on any of his writings or a mockbuster to the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, but shares similarities to films such as Blade: Trinity, Dracula 2000, Underworld: Evolution and Van Helsing. The film also shares some similarities with the 1971 Hammer horror film Countess Dracula, which also features a Dracula-esque femme fatale in the lead role.
Changes is the 12th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Changes was released on April 6, 2010, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list for Hardcover Fiction, dropping to #3 in its second week on the list.
Ghost Story is the 13th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing urban fantasy series about Chicago wizard Harry Dresden.
Curse of the Undead is a 1959 American Horror Western film directed by Edward Dein and starring Eric Fleming, Michael Pate and Kathleen Crowley.
Skin Game is a novel in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It is the 15th novel in the series. It follows the protagonist, Harry Dresden as he teams up with former enemies to rob a vault belonging to Hades, lord of the Underworld.
Besides the novels of The Dresden Files, author Jim Butcher has written several shorter works appearing in the same universe. Most are told from the point of view of Harry Dresden, as are the novels, but some take the point of view of other characters.
Batman: Curse of the White Knight is an American comic book published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint. The eight-issue limited series, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, began publication on July 24, 2019 and concluded on March 25, 2020. It is the sequel to Batman: White Knight and is the second installment in the Murphyverse's White Knight series, which takes place within a self-contained alternate reality that is different from and unrelated to the main DC Universe.
Peace Talks is a novel in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It is the 16th novel in the series. It follows the protagonist, Harry Dresden as he attempts to navigate a convoluted peace negotiation between various supernatural powers.
Battle Ground is a novel by Jim Butcher and is the 17th novel in The Dresden Files. Battle Ground was published on September 29, 2020 by Little, Brown Book Group. In it Harry Dresden, the protagonist, attempts to stop the Titan Ethniu from destroying Chicago.
