The second adventure in the Bartimaeus trilogy finds our young apprentice magician Nathaniel working his way up the ranks of the government, when crisis hits. A seemingly invulnerable clay golem is making random attacks on London. Nathaniel and the all-powerful, totally irreverent djinni, Bartimaeus, must travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power.

In the ensuing chaos, readers will chase a dancing skeleton across London's skyline, encounter the horror of the dreaded Night Police, and enter the Machiavellian world of the magician's government.