The Nine understand time warping, telepathy, and universal truth . . . The question is, are they enough to stop the Tenth? As an experienced trauma nurse, Elizabeth knows what it means to lose a loved one. She's already lost everyone who mattered. And in the process of losing the people she cared most about, she also lost her faith in God. Now, with the nightmares safely locked away, Elizabeth can accept the two things she knows are absolute: God doesn't exist and death is forever. Since the beginning of time, Joseph has functioned as a guide for lives moving from earth toward Heaven. As the Sixth of the Nine, he's always been able to count on the stability of Father's divine system of passage. Lives come and lives go, ad infinitum. But now, when the gateway opens, Joseph feels the presence of another entity. And it's uninvited. Although Father's law forbids Joseph from investigating, he decides to anyway. What he finds is evil in its purest form bearing down on humanity. He knows the evil must be stopped, but he also knows he can't do it alone. So he chooses the most unlikely candidate on earth to be his ally . . .