There¿s a reckoning on the way . . . . . . and Sookie has a knack for being in trouble's way; not least when she witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is known to be two-natured, suspicion immediately falls on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but before she can investigate something else ¿ something even more dangerous ¿ comes up. Sookie¿s lover Eric Northman and his ¿child¿ Pam are plotting something in secret. Whatever it is, they seem determined to keep Sookie out of it; almost as determined as Sookie is to find out what¿s going on. She can¿t sit on the sidelines when both her work and her love life under threat ¿ but as she¿s gradually drawn into their plans Sookie finds the situation is deadlier than she could ever have imagined.