Only hours have passed since Jace left with Valentine and all hell has broken loose at The Institute. Alec, Isabelle and Clary are desperate to find Jace, but are quickly stopped in their tracks with the arrival of Victor Aldertree, who means business about getting the Institute back on track. But getting the New York Shadowhunters in-line with The Clave may be counterintuitive to Alec, Isabelle and Clary's plan to rescue Jace. Meanwhile, Jocelyn has a lot to catch up on now that she is awake.

The hunt is on for Jace Wayland, and Alec and Isabelle hope to reach him before the rest of the Shadowhunters do. With orders from the Clave of “shoot to kill,” the Lightwood siblings must act fast. Also on his own search, Simon turns to Magnus for help when he finds himself at odds with both Raphael and Aldertree. Meanwhile, Clary struggles to find where she belongs since she doesn’t seem to fit into the Shadowhunter world, yet can’t go back to her mundane life.

Already cut off from the Institute and his friends, Jace finds his situation worsen when he becomes a target for the New York wolf pack who believe Jace to be a killer. And don’t forget about Aldertree and the Shadowhunters who continue their own hunt for Jace! With Jace becoming the most wanted man in New York, can his friends get to him before everyone else? Meanwhile, Simon is on a search of his own as Raphael puts pressure on him to find Camille.

Clary continues to struggle with the new Shadowhunter order as Jace is being held in The City of Bones with an unknown fate, and all suspicion in the Shadowhunter world continues to rest on Valentine’s daughter. When duty calls, Clary gets a little reprieve from the family drama as she helps Alec and Isabelle hunt down a powerful demon. But what starts out as a routine mission quickly puts the Institute on high alert, and what happens next will change everything for the Shadowhunters and their Downworlder friends. Meanwhile, Jocelyn has a proposition for Clary as Raphael and Simon ramp up their hunt for Camille.

After the recent attack on the Institute, the Shadowhunters are left devastated and wounded. Trying to regroup, each of the Shadowhunters deals with the situation their own way. Meanwhile, Simon moves home but finds it is not so easy to pull off his new life with his family around.