Professor Piers Knight is an esteemed curator at the Brooklyn Museum and is regarded by many on the staff as a revered institution of his own if not an outright curiosity. Knight's portfolio includes lost civilizations; arcane cultures, languages, and belief; and more than a little bit of the history of magic and mysticism.What&nbsphis contemporaries don't know&nbspis that in addition to being a scholar of all things ancient he is&nbspschooled in the uses of magical artifacts, the teachings of forgotten deities, and the threats of unseen dangers. If a mysterious object surfaces, Professor Knight makes it his job to figure it out - and make sure it stays out of&nbspdangerous hands. A contemporary on an expedition in the Middle East calls&nbspKnight's attention to a&nbspmysterious&nbspobject in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum . &nbspjust before&nbspit becomes the target of a sorcerous attack that leads to a siege on a local precinct house by a fire elemental. What looks like an ordinary inscribed stone may unlock an otherworldly Armageddon that certain dark powers are all too eager to bring about - and only Piers Knight stands in their way.