During the most morally disruptive period in US history, 18-year-old Elise Saint returns to Harlem to become heiress of her family's reaper hunting empire. Reapers, the result of unethical testing by white physicians on African Americans, feed on human blood. But when new players enter the chessboard with promises of a cure-or eradication-Elise's loyalty and worthiness is tested, especially when bodies start turning up. A perfectionist at her core and with the fate of her younger sister hanging in the balance, Elise would not dare to disappoint her family. Failure is not an option.
Although Layla Quinn has been dead for years, her heart still beats. As a reaper, she lives a damned life of murderous impulses and is tormented by a constant need for blood. The only thing she hates more than her reaperhood is the person who caused it, her ex best friend, Elise Saint. Consequences be damned, Layla wants her dead.
As reapers start turning human, a potential cure for both the spreading poison and reaperhood alters the power imbalance in Harlem. And when Layla is blamed for a Saint murder, Elise is the only one who can offer her immunity from prison. While Layla must team up with the person who damned her for a chance to become human once more, Elise tests the boundaries between humans and reapers, where blood bled is just blood owed and one wrong turn could mean toppling her family's empire and becoming damned herself. If they can settle their strife, they might get what they want, but risk inciting new mutinies, destroying their homes and themselves in the process.
