Amelia Blackwell's sisters were kidnapped by an ancient, undead witch known as the Dead Queen and Amelia attacked the pirate's mountain-sized star ship out of pure desperation. She never expected to actually rescue her sisters, let alone defeat the pirate on her own ship. Nonetheless, she pulled it off, got her sisters back and left the pirate queen's ship helplessly listing through space.

Unfortunately for the Blackwell sisters, that's only the beginning, because the Dead Queen survived and she's absolutely livid. She seeks revenge, because the sisters made her look weak, forcing her to save face by killing them, lest her own lieutenants kill her.

Worse, the soul of Amelia's oldest sister, Marta, has been intertwined with that of the Dead Queen, who was using necromancy to consume it, to extend her own life. That leaves them both stumbling through the thoughts of the other, each looking for some advantage in a battle of soul vs. soul, winner take all - even though Marta has no desire to steal the undead witch's soul.

Iris, the middle sister, fares no better. Since she managed to resist interrogation by torture, the Dead Queen instead forced an addiction on her, offering hits of a pleasure spell for information, until she broke. Her brain chemistry is so screwed up, she's unlikely to survive withdrawal.

The Queen soon gets her ship moving and the chase is on! Will the Blackwells find refuge and allies to fight off the Queen's massive ship, or will everyone shun them, unwilling to take the risk of standing up to the queen of the pirates, who terrifies even the rulers of the star system?

Volume two of The Book of Newts. Approximately 119,000 words.