Skulduggery Pleasant has many enemies - many, many enemies - and people try to kill him multiple times a day. But when someone puts a price on his head, he finds himself going up against a foe that not even he can beat. Not alone, anyway.And where is his partner right when he needs her the most?Valkyrie Cain is in prison, fighting to stay alive in a place where everyone wants to kill her.With an island of sorcerers ready to cut themselves off from the rest of the world, a terrorist group enjoying unprecedented public support, and a showdown looming between Winter Grieving and the Child of the Ancients, Skulduggery and Valkyrie find that their options, like their chances, are quickly running out.IS THIS THE END?