Thomas Abbot, the Augur of the Sub Rosa council, wants James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, to investigate the disappearance of a young boy—and help uncover council members who might be tied to the mysterious Wormwood organization. But Stark’s mission changes when he meets a dying angel who gives him a vial of a mysterious dark liquid. Known as black milk, the substance could tip the balance in the ongoing war between loyal and rebel angels over human souls’ access to heaven. When one of Stark’s closest friends is poisoned with it, Stark and Candy have to go to the only place they might find a cure—Hell.

But standing in their way are the damned souls who, even after death, still work for Wormwood. The secret deal they’ve struck with the rebel angels will determine the fate of the world and every soul in it. Stark has to find a way to break the stalemate in the angel war, score the Perdition cure, and make it back to L.A. in one piece . . . where an old enemy waits to finish him once and for all.