Phineas Cavanaugh likes to play with dead things. As a centuries-old necromancer he is Seattle's foremost investigator on the recently deceased, and he hasn't met a corpse he didn't like.

Hired to track down a serial killer, Phineas and beautiful Detective Andrews face off against an enraged beast that should not exist. Things go from bad to worse when is summoned to probe the murder of his teacher and oldest friend.

Phineas learns the hard way that the two cases are related when a demonic force attempts to devour him. Now, if he is to survive the night, he will have to join forces with his former flame, a witch named Glenda; Frank, a Native American changer, and a snarky demon - who may or may not be - under Phineas's thrall.

With the power over the dead at his command, Phineas' destiny leads to a showdown in Hell, where the price of failure may be his soul, and nothing less than the very Earth itself.