The world is about to end, and he is the only one who can save it.

Emperor Iztac is racing against time. He has finally discovered the Nightlords' sinister plan: to use the New Fire Ceremony to raise a sulfur sun that would allow vampires to prey on the living during the day. He has weeks to sabotage the ritual, and no margin of error. But who can he trust in his palace full of spies and traitors?

And what should he make of his estranged mother, the witch Ichtaca, who has offered him the secrets of the dead and the power of the gods? Her price for her knowledge is steep: that he triumphs over the trials of the dread city of Xibalba, where demons gather.

Whether demons or vampires, Iztac shall teach them all to fear an emperor's wrath...