Some secrets are dangerous to keep. Some secrets are too dangerous to tell. Essallie Hanley just wishes her life could go back to normal. But what's normal when you carry the burden of knowing you're a half-angel created for war, that the only person who can help you is a demon still waiting to kill you, and that your only chance for salvation rested in a boy who died in front of you? If Essallie had turned her back on everything she'd learned, she could have made the most of her fractured life. That is, until Kayden told her that she's a ticking time-bomb; that at any given moment her blood could betray her, her veins burning her alive from the inside out until nothing but ash remains. Desperate to find answers, and possibly find her only chance for survival, Essallie heads back for New York City, back to the place where it all began. With every answer comes a price, and with every price the risks and rewards become greater. But when Essallie soon finds herself the target of an unknown hunter determined to have her, all appears to be at wits' end. Until Ari, a man claiming to be Nephilim, steps in. Charming, gentle, and boldly brave, he seems to be exactly what Essallie needs. Could Ari be the missing piece of her puzzle, or is he the promise of her demise?