Ben and Shade thought they beat the Shadoweaters. They were wrong. Hiding out in an abandoned farmhouse outside of town, Ben and Shade watch in horror as Casino is overwhelmed by Shadow Eaters, smothering the very town itself in shadow. First the police, then the army fall to this growing, shapeless evil. When Shade goes missing, Ben is left to fend for himself and take on the training of their new recruits. As Ben struggles to work out what to do, the shadows slither out across the land and seize neighbouring towns in their grip. When the new recruits ask for their shadows to be removed and become Lightbringers, Ben thinks he's finally on the right track.