When a madman starts robbing banks the really old fashioned way, by blowing holes in them with magical explosives, the police want Alex to catch him before he kills and robs again.  There are two problems with that, however, first as far as Alex knows there's no such thing as a blasting rune, and second his friend Danny Pak is up for a promotion and that's not Danny's case.

Alex splits his time between chasing the homicidal bomber and helping Danny figure out what happened to a dead writer who was basing her book on Broadway's most famous murder.  While the bomber continues to elude Alex, he becomes convinced that the writer was killed by someone who wanted the old murder to remain unsolved.  Before he can pursue either case further, however, the feds show up, wanting Alex's take on a series of bizarre magic related deaths.

Now Alex must solve the fifteen year old Broadway murder, catch a blast-happy bank robber, and figure out how average people are being killed by a mysterious, untraceable magic.  All the while he has scant leads, even fewer suspects, and the inescapable feeling that he's being played.