Plot summary
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, accepts a case from Monica Sells. Her husband, Victor, a man obsessed with the occult, has been acting increasingly erratic, his once-gentle demeanor replaced with a chilling paranoia. Shortly after Monica leaves, Harry is called by his ally in the Chicago Police Department, Lt. Karrin Murphy, to consult on a bizarre case: a couple died in an upscale hotel room by magical means: their hearts exploded out of their chests. The man worked as a bodyguard for Chicago's reigning crime boss, "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone, the woman was an exclusive escort.
Harry is troubled because the White Council - the governing body of wizards - will immediately fasten on him as the obvious suspect for the murders. Morgan, a Warden representing the Council, has already warned him that he "knows" Harry is responsible and will execute him as soon as he uncovers proof.
Harry has separate confrontations with Marcone and Bianca, a vampire who runs the escort service the murdered woman worked for. Neither of them admit responsibility, but Marcone says a new drug called "Three Eye" making an impact on Chicago's streets is not made by his organization, but may be the work of a rogue magician.
After a series of magical assassination attempts, Harry eventually identifies Victor Sells as the self-taught sorcerer behind Three Eye and the recent murders. He began as a harmless collector of arcane artifacts, but eventually became drunk with power, using magic to seize control of Chicago and killing anyone he perceived was in his way, including Marcone's men and Monica's own sister.
The final confrontation takes place at Sells's country home. Despite his power, Sells is still an amateur and proves unable to control the demonic forces he summons to combat Harry. The mansion burns down with Sells inside, and a weakened Harry is almost killed as well but saved by Morgan, who was forced to admit that Harry was not responsible for the murders.
Harry is able to report a successful solution to the mystery to Murphy, but knows that Sells's actions have stirred up conflicts in the Chicago area that he will need to watch out for.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
