Just recovered from a grave illness, Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called to the bedside of an elderly priest. When Dalgliesh arrives, Father Baddeley is dead. Is it merely his own brush with mortality that causes Dalgliesh to sense the shadow of death about to fall once more? "Splendid, macabre," wrote the London Sunday Telegraph. "The Black Tower is a masterpiece," the London Sunday Times concurred.

The mystery behind the Black Tower comes to a head! As the fortress finally opens its doors, what emerges is something so shocking - so unlike anything Red Sonja has ever faced before - that it will change her world forever! Could the enigmatic Tower's secrets finally signal the end for our favorite She-Devil with a Sword?

At the eerie Hunt mansion, Herculeah Jones has been reading aloud to Lionus Hunt, an elderly stroke victim who can only communicate by blinking his eyes (once for yes, twice for no). Mr. Hunt seems to be trying to tell Herculeah something, but his gruff nurse won't allow her to ask any questions. What is Mr. Hunt trying to say? Is it related to a murder that took place in the mansion?s black tower years ago? And who is the creepy old lady who lives in the mansion? Herculeah's friend Meat thinks she may be asking for trouble, but Herculeah Jones won't quit until she gets to the bottom of this mystery.

What is the Black Tower? What startling mysteries does it contain within its walls? And most shockingly... how will its very existence cause the death of Red Sonja? When the Hyrkanian swordswoman rides into the city of Lur, she discovers that a mysterious ebon fortress has risen in the night, inspiring paranoia among the populace. While some fearful citizens are driven to murderous frenzy, others become fanatic devotees of the tower's unknown inhabitants. As the years go by, Sonja is always drawn back to this desperate place where unfeeling eyes gleam in dark corners. Who are the Soulless, and what terrible fate will they bring to the red-tressed heroine?