Having fled being burnt at the stake in Ireland, the reluctant sorcerer Fursey is back in this sequel, trying to make a quiet life for himself as a grocer in the realm of King Ethelwulf. But when his old enemies seize his wife, Fursey resolves to embrace evil and return to Ireland to reclaim her. Readers will welcome the return of Fursey's unhelpful familiar Albert, the suave Prince of Darkness, and the powerful sorcerer Cuthbert, as well as such memorable new characters as George the Vampire and Sigurd the Skull Splitter.
