
Meanwhile, Consul Josiah Wayland, now increasingly frustrated by Charlotte Branwell's refusal to be his lapdog, attempts to convince Gideon and Gabriel to betray her in exchange for the Lightwood's honor to be restored. Jem refuses to even consider the offer and convinces Tessa to do the same, so they decide to move the date of their wedding earlier. However, Axel Mortmain has bought all of London's stock of yin fen, wanting to blackmail the Institute into handing over Tessa in exchange for the drug. Jem gets sick faster and Will realizes that he has taken an unusually higher dosage of yin fen so he can stay stronger for the wedding. Gabriel moves to the London Institute and develops a relationship with Will Herondale's sister, Cecily, who has also taken residence in the Institute after failing to convince Will to return home, much to Will's annoyance.

At the end, Gabriel and his brother, Gideon, have no choice but to kill their father, creating a rift between the brothers and Tatiana. Gabriel Lightwood arrives at the Institute and requests help in taking care of his father, Benedict, whose demon pox has turned him into a worm, killing the Lightwood's servants and Rupert Blackthorn, the husband of his daughter, Tatiana.


Two months after the events of the previous book, Tessa Gray is in the midst of preparing for her wedding to Jem Carstairs.
