The match is struck as the enigmatic geneticist Mr. Sinister and the demon-lord N'astirh set their respective master plans in motion - both centred around one woman: Madelyne Pryor, wife of Scott Summers, the X-Man called Cyclops. The flame is fanned as Sinister's agents, the Marauders, attack Madelyne's protectors in the X-Men, while a horde of N'astirh's demons prey upon the helpless, horrified populace of New York City. The inferno burns as Madelyne strikes her own bargain with N'astirh, the Goblin Queen, who threatens to cast a spell turning the earth into a wasteland.