In a distant past the magician, Seabhac, fought a deadly battle on a cliff high above the raging sea. Hovering on the point of death, he managed a final thrust of magic and escaped to Avalon to pass his knowledge to his apprentice, Ainevar. Driven to protect the endangered druid magic, Ainevar fled Seabhac's attacker and began a course of events that wind through history and take root in modern day Salem. It took a hefty bribe to convince New Yorker Cassandra Raines to decorate her brother's new house. Especially since the house is located in Salem, Massachusets and Cassandra has an aversion to magic. Her arrival in town embroils Cassandra in ritual murders, latent powers gone awry, and Salem's attractive police chief, Samson Wilder, who harbors his own history of magic, curses, and deadly secrets. Past and present collide when the legacy of evil that has stalked Salem for centuries returns with a vengeance.