Father Tom Padilla died in the events that ended in The Hangman. His friend Jericho Caine, the vampire slayer, recovered his body and made plans to cremate it. However, the body is stolen by a demon that plans to inhabit Tom's body. The botched incantation brings Tom back to life and sets him on a collision course with the demon. He learns the demon can't possess his body without a ring engraved with the Padilla's family crest. Tom's path reunites him with Jericho, a new love interest, and terrible secrets and memories from the Padilla's past. Father Tom Padilla: Mark of the Demon Priest is one of four novellas in the Hangman Universe (HMU) that lead up to the novel, The Hangman Returns.