GM Notes: This chapter of the story takes place on August 9, 2000. Wesley awakens after having a vision warning him about Julian, Jessica, and Rose. He finds Isis’s amulet beside his bed and the technological gifts given to him by Julian have ceased to function. Wesley seeks out Po and the pair were able to determine that Isis left the amulet behind before she left the Snake Range Chantry. They are interrupted in their research and invited to breakfast.

Meanwhile sometime in late May (taking place after the events of Bradbury) Jacob Torgue is returning back to work after his months of recovery at the Nevada Mental Health Institute at Sparks. He takes up a job from Wendy Yu’s client, find Rose Popplewell. Jacob’s investigation and inquiries alerts the vampires working at the Westchester County Hospital that held Rose as a patient. The vampires know that Rose is in Las Vegas.

Back in the present Wesley and Po dine with the other members of the Gravediggers. They are informed by Hydra that Isis and the cabal came to an agreement on how to handle Rose’s baby, the dhampir. Hydra agrees to hand over the dhampir to Julian as long as the Order of Hermes is still involved in the research being conducted upon the child. She informs them that a neutral overseer will be appointed to the child who is not a member of the Gravediggers or Julian’s cabal. Po demands the return of Rose and holds the Gravediggers responsible for Peter’s death. The mages claim that Peter’s death was an accident and Reinga informs them that Rose is dead, which Po and Wesley believe may be a lie. Hydra agrees to hand over a sample of Rose to the cabal.

Sometime in June (taking place around the events of Walking the Dog) Jacob Torgue is having difficulties finding information on the whereabouts of Rose. He learns that Rose was abducted from the Westchester facility by Peter Stepanowicz during the Week of Nightmares. He is able to uncover that Peter was a male nurse that worked at the facility. Jacob also learns from his hacker contact, Ev02k, that the head nurse, Mae Joyce, and many members of the Westchester facility have suspicious records. Ev02k suggests that the records may be forgeries. Jacob then attempts to find more information on Rose by asking around at the Black Pyramid Chantry. He meets up with Butch Levi.

Butch Levi was not able to help Jacob with his investigation but he does offer Jacob a new job offer. Find the saboteur and spy that somehow disrupted the ritual during the celestial conjunction on May 5. Levi doesn’t want House Janissary to get involved with the Chantry’s affairs. Jacob’s investigations lead him to speak with Ralph Cannon, the chantry’s head of maintenance. Ralph theorizes that the ritual may possibly been disrupted by paradox from the Avatar Storm, but he also passes on a rumor that Wesley Smith admitted a stranger into the Chantry a few days before the ritual.

Jacob then meets up with Wesley and interrogates him on the events of the ritual. As the Chantry’s head librarian, Wesley was responsible for supplying the spell research for the ritual. Wesley admits that he was distracted in the days before the ritual by the growing gang violence and wraith activity in the city. Jacob on a whim then asks Wesley had he ever seen Rose or Peter before. Wesley then coughs up the truth on what happened to Rose, that she is a vampire and that she was turned over to the Gravediggers for study. After the meeting Jacob decides to end the case and informs Wendy that Rose is dead. He learns that his client was Julian Raven.

Back in the present and after breakfast Po follows Reinga and then confronts him about Rose. The two argue over the philosophy on how to deal with vampires and how to defend the sleepers. Wesley is given a tour of the Chantry’s dungeons by Damon. Wesley learns more about the Massasa War and how the Order of Hermes is losing in the European front.

Sometime in mid July (after the events of Sin Eater) Ev02K contacts Jacob and informs him that he has been looking into the company that operates the Westchester County Hospital. He knows that it is connected with two other facilities in Boston and North Carolina. Ev02K theorizes that the operations are being run by the Progenitors. He even speculates that Jacob’s client, Julian Raven, is a member of the Progenitors. Jacob then decides to start investigating Julian Raven. He contacts Butch and the pair share information on what they know about Raven. According to Butch, Julian is a member of the Virtual Adepts. He also learns that Aurora Golden approached Malcolm Henry on behalf of Julian and proposed a partnership between the Black Pyramid Chantry and Julian Raven’s cabal. Raven was willing to offer his Node so that the Black Pyramid Chantry could continue to conduct their research away from the oversight of Buona Fortuna. Jacob is also updated on the events that occurred in Sin Eater and how Julian’s cabal claims that Coyote is responsible for the disruption of the ritual on May 5. Butch thinks this may be a deception and asks Jacob to look further into the matter.

Back in the present Po overhears Wesley and Damon talking about how the Gravediggers would love to get their hands on an elder vampire for study. Many of the prisoners currently being kept by the Gravediggers is made up of young vampires. Po devises a plan with Wesley and suggests that he knows the location of an elder vampire, Sands, knowing well that the Gravediggers are spying on them. Damon returns to the cabal and suggests that Hydra is willing to hand over Rose’s remains in exchange for an elder vampire. He also suggests that if they’re able to capture Mae, the dhampir working with Jesse Hooker, Hydra is willing to give up full custody of the baby entirely.

On August 9, Jacob is contacted by Damon Strangelove and offered a job opportunity to become the guardian of the baby dhampir between a joint venture by the Order of Hermes and the Virtual Adepts. Jacob learns that Julian is involved, so he agrees.

On the road to Ely Jacob’s car is nearly overturned due to a vision of a nuclear explosion in the desert. He knows that something terrible is going to happen on September 9, 2001. Unable to get his car to work again, Jacob is given a lift by a passing car owned by Mac the Zombie. Jacob finds the man odd due to the fact he talks to a person that he can’t see, an imaginary friend named Peter. They drive along the Lonely Road and come upon a road block set up by the White Pine Country police. Jacob soon learns that there is something strange with Mac as Mac was able to beguile the police officer with some sort of magic.

Eve drives Po and Wesley back to Ely but also come across a different police road block. Po learns that the police are looking for him and Wesley. Po is able to devise a clever plan to get them across the road block. At the same time Mac and Jacob’s car arrives behind them and Wesley is able to recognize Jacob. Wesley also recognizes Peter Stepanowicz’s ghost. Peter is able to possess one of the police officers and offers Mac and Jacob an opportunity to get pass the road block as well.

Eve, Po, and Wesley finally meet up with Jacob and Mac.