Anthony Banna remembers the day the demon first came for him. It had been at the age of eight, when his grandfather's corpse had grabbed him from its coffin, eyes blazing, speaking in a voice that was not his own . . . Years have passed. The demon comes and goes, never staying away for long, never giving Anthony the normal life he craves. Now a student at Rutgers University, Anthony decides, finally, that enough is enough. Under the guidance of celebrated academic and demonologist James Gilligan, Anthony begins to delve into the supernatural, eventually discovering among the old, dusty tomes, the story of one Mercedes Engle, a 17th Century Dutch colonist who, legend claimed, had been visited by the Archangel Raphael. Anthony can't help but wonder: could Mercedes' descendants still live in New York? Could they hold the key to defeating the demon once and for all? Mercy is the thrilling, romantic, and sometimes comic tale of an Italian-American boy who, coming at last into adulthood, is forced to face his demons head-on-literally.