Kel Saren, body double to Prince Conor of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace, and the only clues are held by the criminal Ragpicker King. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold, headed up by the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores. Meanwhile, to save the life of a dying friend, Lin Caster has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn. Now the terrifying leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher --- the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city. But Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge. After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld.

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing --- not even a smear of blood --- to show that a boy has died. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons.