No outsider has set foot on the island of Manhattan for the past three years, and with good reason. It's become a place of wild, dark magic, where technology and the laws of science do not work. The dark kingdom of Manhattan is at war with the United States, seeking to spread across the river to the rest of the world. Its armies of trolls, goblins, imps, ghouls, and harpies are under the command of a dark sorcerer: Everett Winterthorn, the Midnight King. Isaac Silverberg is Winterthorn's former apprentice, plucked from Death Row and given a final chance to redeem himself. The US Army makes him an offer he can't refuse: his life, in exchange for rescuing the daughter of the governor of New Jersey. She's been kidnapped by Winterthorn's minions and taken into the depths of the Magic Kingdom. It's a mission that can only be accomplished by a mage powerful enough to face down Winterthorn. Unfortunately for Isaac Silverberg, the government believes that he is that man. In fact, they are quite sure of it. Isaac himself isn't so sure...