It seems like only yesterday that Charlie Asher took on a very dirty job—collecting souls and keeping the Forces of Darkness at bay. But when Charlie faced off against these denizens of ­darkness he met his own end. Thanks to Audrey, his Buddhist-nun boo, his soul is still alive . . . inside a fourteen-inch-tall body made from lunchmeat and spare animal parts. Waiting for Audrey to find him a suitable new body to play host, Charlie has squirreled ­himself away from everyone, including his seven-year-old ­daughter, ­Sophie—the Luminatus—who enjoys spouting off about her power over the Underworld and her dominion over Death.

Now some really freaky stuff is hitting San Francisco. People are dying, but their souls are not being collected. Someone—or something—is stealing them and no one knows where they are going, or why, but it has something to do with that big orange bridge . . .