Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practicing wizard, is hired by a mysterious priest to find the stolen Shroud of Turin. But first, Harry must deal with the Red Court of Vampires' champion, professional hit men, and the return of his semi-vampire former girlfriend.

Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in Chicago. But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble: tormeted, violent, and deadly. Someone is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why?

Now that his girlfriend has left him, professional wizard Harry Dresden can't pay his rent and alienates his friends. He's soon approached by the Winter Queen of Faerie with an offer he can't refuse--all he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name. Soon, Harry finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case.