Jack Dawson, a New York City detective, is dealing with a variety of situations in his life. His wife Linda has recently died, leaving him the sole caretaker for his two children, Penny and Davey. He is also forced to confront an especially brutal string of murders of Mafia criminals, which have been seemingly done by animals even though no living creature would simply tear a victim to pieces without actually eating anything. Finally, his partner Rebecca dismisses his eventual belief that there may be supernatural or magical factors in the killings.

In truth, these creatures have been called forth from hell by a bocor named Baba Lavelle. Because of their small size, Lavelle assumed were just minor demons and the portal to Hell is not yet big enough to accommodate greater entities. At the end of the novel, Dawson is surprised to see that the portal has grown so big it has engulfed the shed where it is concealed. Numerous tentacles have sprouted from the pit and dragged Lavelle to hell. When Jack sees this, he comes to the conclusion that this was just a mere finger of a greater evil that was about to come. When holy water doesn't stop the pit from growing, Jack uses his blood from a wound inflicted by a tentacle to stop the pit. He fears that if he fails, he will be forced to sacrifice himself into the pit. The novel ends with all the denizens turning to mud and Jack hearing Rebecca say "I love you Jack" in thin air.