Too weak to fight wild daemons like his parents, Adrian settled for catching strays. But when he stumbles upon a secret method of bonding daemons that doesn't strip them of their free will, he suddenly finds himself on the run armed with nothing but his wits, his daemons, and his reluctant friend-turned-rival, Seymour, for company. Can they survive long enough to repair their fractured friendship and reveal the truth about daemon bonding...or will Adrian end up the failure he always feared?