In the clearing behind her home, six-year-old Clare Abshire encounters 36-year-old time traveler Henry DeTamble for the first time. Fourteen years later, an unexpected reunion a the library gives Henry the opportunity to meet Clare.

The modern world holds many secrets, but by far the most astounding is that witches still live among us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world and putting an end to the human race once and for all. Armies of witch hunters have battled this unnatural enemy for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who many years ago slayed the all-powerful Witch Queen, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen cursed Kaulder with immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter. Today, Kaulder is the last living hunter who has spent his immortal life tracking down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost family.

A corporate risk-management consultant must determine whether or not to terminate an artificial being's life that was made in a laboratory environment.