Money. Love. Family. When it all falls away and she's left with nothing, one unlikely woman must save herself so that she can save humanity. When Alena Ford is exiled from the whitewashed Upper East Side paradise she hid behind and forced to face both the racial injustice--and her painful past--that she pretended to forget, chaos ensues. A desperate move to a gritty section of Brooklyn sets off an adventure she never imagined. She befriends her eccentric new neighbor Gloria, and the woman's stunning amethyst necklace and Black Madonna painting draw her into a world of ancient secrets, dark forces, and powerful magic. Alena is descended from an ancient order called The Bridgers, chosen to save humanity from the origin of evil, the Shetani. To succeed, Alena must first battle the demons of her past; if she loses, the fate of the world is at stake. If Alena hopes to survive a final showdown between good and evil, she will need to awaken gifts bestowed to her lifetimes ago and heed the wisdom of the Beings of Light--but first she must make it through her initiation alive.