~Best read after the original Ava Delaney series~ The backdrop may be grim, but Dublin city has become the centre of change. And as the humans and supernaturals figure out how to live in each other’s worlds, the person who forced that change has quietly stepped aside for a peaceful life. Ava Delaney is still trying to adjust to her own altered existence when a tainted nephal turns up on her doorstep, apparently on the run from the monster who changed Ava’s life before she was even born. But she’s not supposed to interfere, even for the lost souls she’s vowed to help. But as the first vampire leaves death in his wake, and Ava becomes an easy target to blame, she realises she has to take care of business once again. There are more secrets hidden in the shadows, more voices just waiting to be heard, and obedience has never been Ava’s thing. Only one thing is for certain: for people like Ava Delaney, there’s no such thing as a peaceful life.

Ava’s been protecting her shifter friend from the alpha for months, but now he’s managed to come up with a brand new excuse to take Esther, and the Senate have turned their backs on her completely. While Ava works to find a way to keep Esther out of Mac’s reach for good, a series of violent murders put everyone in the cul-de-sac under suspicion. An entire race will be exterminated the real culprits aren’t found, and people like Ava just might be next on the soon-to-be-extinct list.

Ava’s been trying to help her past and her future co-exist, but when it all goes wrong, she’s barely able to take a breath when the next drama begins, and she begins to wonder about her string of bad luck. Tensions are already running high when evidence of slavery appears on Ava’s doorstep, quickly followed by an unwelcome blast from the past with news that forces her to rethink where her trust lies. The only thing Ava knows for sure is that it’s time to finish cleaning up the mess that started with Fionnuala because bad luck is catching, and everyone she cares about is affected.