Martin Mondragon meets the Devil's messenger, Joe Sagasti, who comes to collect an unpaid soul-debt left by Martin's late grandfather. As the descendant of the debtor, Martin, unbeknownst to himself, is the guarantor of the agreement, the collateral man. Sagasti initially pressures Martin, as a matter of honor, to surrender his soul for no benefit at all. A drop of blood on an ancient parchment, and the matter can be settled very easily. When Martin refuses, Sagasti unleashes a horrific chain of events to convince Martin that life can sometimes be worse than death. Martin sets out to fight his enemy and the dark powers of Hell, to keep his soul and his sanity, with no tools beyond his analytical mind. Martin must learn the one secret his grandfather never told him-how to beat the Devil himself.
