Jocasta Pantile needs a case to keep the bailiffs from the door. Stanislav Duff needs someone to find his prize spells. They make the ideal client and enquiry agent, especially with Jocasta's prize asset, the genetically-engineered Spellhound. The trouble is that when she finds them, Duff intends to kill the thief and his accomplices. Jocasta doesn't much like his plan, but knows that if she doesn't find them, Duff may kill her instead. If he doesn't kill her anyway; she knows too much about him for her own good. Neither of them realize just how far Duff's desire for Vengeance will take them....