When Clary Fray, a fifteen year old girl, goes to the Pandemonium Club in NYC, she has no idea what to do when she witnesses a murder. The murderers are three teenagers covered in strange tattoos and wielding stranger weapons. The body also disappears, leaving Clary baffled. Soon, her mother vanishes, and she begins to search for her. In her hunt she finds a barely recognizable New York, rife with wild warlocks, hidden faeries, rabid werewolves, and demons. All of these creatures who won't be satisfied until they destroy the land called Downworld. She travels through Downworld and meets a mysterious demon hunter named Jace. Jace is one of the Shadowhunters, and Clary doesn’t know why she’s having feelings for him. She joins the Nephilim, a secret cult of demon hunters and tries to master her newfound abilities quickly to rescue her mother. However, rescuing her mother might put Downworld itself at risk of destruction.