Ghosts, ghouls, things that go bump in the night. Chess has seen them all in her role as a witch and ghost hunter. Right now, life is going surprisingly well for Chess Putnam. Her bank balance is healthy, she's pretty sure she can call Terrible her "boyfriend", and the last few months have been devoid of anyone trying to kill her. So, when Chess is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she is unsurprised; she knew the recent calm wouldn't last. As if that wasn't bad enough, Chess' ex-lover Lex, son of a rival crime lord, is trying to re-ignite the sparks between them. Plus, there's the little matter of Chess' real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth; investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead, and if Chess doesn't watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks. As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she's not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.
