J. Chaucey Thatcher has a monster inside him, but this is the least of his worries. A murderer prowls the Iron City, slaying inventors. An angry mob storms close behind, blaming wizards. Any they find, they burn alive. Chaucey is an inventor. He is also secretly a wizard, and the only person who can help with this secret was just murdered before his very eyes. But when it comes to investigating, Chaucey is as dogged as his best friend is dog. With the help of his loyal pug butler, his sparky (almost? maybe?) girlfriend, and a sleuth of rambunctious bears, he has vowed to unravel the mystery of these murders and save the city from the grips of terror. But the monster inside him burns for escape. Will he save the Iron City? Or will the monster destroy it first?