Some time has passed since the events in Dark Watcher. In the aftermath of Suzanne's sacrifice, Elise, Mari, Theo, and their Watchers, Dante and Hanson have settled into their roles fairly well. With Dante and Theo's romance as an example, Hanson finds his thoughts turning more and more to Mari, in ways that verge on being threatening to his Watcher's duties.

Considering that the spell that formed their group is flawed, allowing the Dark to attack them, love could become a liability. Only by delving into Suzanne's legacy can the three Lightbringers and two Watchers stave off the dark tide.

Though not as engagingly riveting as the first volume, readers who care about what happens next to the characters they first met in the prior novel will be pleased to see their progression. A new character is introduced that holds great promise in her supporting role. The main drawback is that drawing so heavily on the readers' knowledge or memory of Volume I might deter new readers or readers whose reading habits are prolific and have possibly read several dozen books since reading the last one.

Synopsis
All Mariamne Niege wants to do is finish her thesis and get a job. Unfortunately, her life isn't that simple. She's a Guardian now, and her visions of the future have grown so intense she is literally blind to the world while in their grip. Not to mention that her Watcher, Hanson, is sleeping on her couch and scaring her roommates when he's not shepherding her through the visions and calming her progressively worsening nightmares. Then the earthquakes start, warning of an even bigger disaster approaching—a disaster that could level her beloved city and claim both hers and her best friend's lives. A disaster that her visions say could be triggered by Hanson.

Hanson has his own problems. He joined the Watchers to atone for a life of lies, but it seems the only way he can protect Mari is to use some of his less than honest talents. She is the only witch who can ease the agony of being a Watcher, and the only woman in the world he wants. But the distance between them grows daily, and the entire city is uneasy as the earthquakes start. Then Mari's house is broken into and her roommates slaughtered by the Dark. In order to save Mari from the evil that hunts her, he's going to have to become more of what frightens her. It's a hell of a choice, and one he isn't sure he can make...