Emma Gilbert never imagined she'd have to battle an ancient evil, one whose powers and rage have been building for centuries. More than twenty years have passed since Karen Gilbert was stalked by a demon child intent on her death. Still, she can't escape from dark forces in this world. As her life draws near its end, her body ravaged by the same cancer that took her mother and grandmother before her, she's restricted to a hospital bed. With time running out, she must warn her daughter of the dark forces in the world, those she could never talk about before. Emma Gilbert is as beautiful and headstrong as her mother, and she's just learned that she's about to be called into battle against an unimaginable evil that has stalked the earth for a millennium. She flounders under the weight of her newfound knowledge, and what it might mean for her life, but she cannot ignore her destiny. Forced into a supernatural confrontation, she discovers the daunting stakes should she fail-much more than her own life.