Having returned from the infernal Abyss only to find his whole world changed, young 'sinner' Oz Vessalius embarks on an attempt at normalcy after being reunited with his best friend and valet, Gilbert, whom he had presumed dead. But during a trip into town with Gil and Alice, an unexpected encounter leads Oz down memory lane . . . For Oz, however, the path is one covered with the most menacing of thorns. And lying in wait to assail him there . . . The baleful eye of his father and the echoes of cursed words Oz would much rather forget . . .