Galaxy Stern, nicknamed Alex, the protagonist Yale student and powerful magical member of the Lethe society, approaches Black Elm, the Lethe faculty liaison Darlington’s house. Inside the kitchen, she notices an open door to the basement. Alex debates whether to investigate or call for help but decides to go herself. As she descends the stairs, she is pushed to the basement floor. The door locks, and she is left in the dark. Alex finds two terrified Grays, the book’s version of ghosts, in the basement with her. She discovers their bodies in the basement, covered in fresh blood. She realizes that she recognizes these people, although she does not provide their identities. The chapter ends with the male Gray warning her they are not alone.

In Chapter 1, set a month prior, Alex waits for her friends in a club and reflects on the events from the previous novel. She spots a Gray at the bar who silently signals for help. Despite wanting to hang out with her roommates, Mercy and Lauren, she receives a text that changes her plans; it is from Eitan, the cousin of the drug dealer she killed the summer prior.