On their sixteenth birthday, twins, Nick Jensen and Terry Warrington, each receive one last gift from their dead mother. Sixteen years earlier on the night she was murdered, she had two items in her possession, a bracelet engraved with twenty-three random, unevenly spaced Minoan letters and a ring with five symbols representing the elements of Water, Wind, Fire, Earth and Aether, the one Element impervious to all others.
Terry, who possesses all four Elements, appears to be the One spoken of in the 8th Mayan Prophecy. Due to Nickβs influence, however, he rejects Alastor Thanatosβ offer to serve as his mentor. But does his choice have repercussions, not only for his brother, but for the rest of the clan as well?
Nick has lost all of his powers and is helpless to do anything when Terryβs old posse is sent to attack him. He ends up badly burned and near death. In order to save him, the Clan returns to Greece to enlist the aid of Ligeia, Thanatosβ Minoan translator. When they are caught, they lose the precious time they need to save Nick. Only after Terry consents to allow Thanatos to mentor him are they allowed to leave. But is it too late?
As the teens solve the mystery of the bracelet and ring, strange events begin to occur. Clues left by the twinsβ mother lead them back to the sacred Mayan temple at Cholula near Puebla, Mexico. There they find still more cryptic messages that they will need to unravel before their final show down with the person who possesses Aether.
Thanatos and the Inner Sanctum are determined to break the influence the Clan has on Terry, even if it means eliminating them. But unbeknownst to the World Council leader, Terry has kept secrets from him, as well as, from members of the Clan. The key questions are on which side will Terry choose to fight, and which person close to the twins will commit the ultimate betrayal predicted in the final Mayan prophecy?