With the help of David Talbot, ultimate fixer from the secret Talamasca organisation, Louis appeals to Merrick, the beautiful mixed-race daughter of the New Orleans Mayfair clan - from the wrong side of the tracks To save Louis' sanity, Merrick must use her black witchcraft to call up the ghost of Claudia - however dangerous this may be But there are other spirits who will not lie still, and her search takes her close to the edge, through blood and terror, voodoo and violence