Shelton "Shifty" Sharpe's master, Damien Rathschild, always thinks of new ways to challenge him.

Now he has to help Damien in his latest power contest with his rival Josiah Nesfer, the prize of which is the magical artifact that Shifty was first commissioned to find when he became Damien's minion.

Carrying out Damien's instructions is hard enough without knowing his master will execute him for incompetence if his failures don't get him killed in the crossfire.