Meredith NicEssus is a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries are not only known to the general public, but are also fashionable. She takes on the pseudonym “Merry Gentry” to hide from her family and her past while hiding out in Los Angeles. Merry, the only Sidhe (pronounced “shEE”) royal to be born on American soil, fearing the continuous assassination attempts on her life thinly disguised as duels, flees the Unseelie Court in a final act of self-preservation. Her glamour (the art of magical disguise through illusion) is nearly unrivaled at court, and she is able to pass herself off as a human with fey blood.
Merry’s name full name and title is Princess Meredith NicEssus, Child of Peace, Besaba’s Bane. “NicEssus” means, literally, “daughter of Essus”; it is the sort of name given to a child and laid aside once the child has come into his or her powers. That Merry used the name into her thirties is a sign that she is a late bloomer at best, a lesser sidhe at worst. After a child comes into their power, the last name is dropped. Later in the series it is revealed that Meredith is a fertility deity whose powers are of both courts.
As of the end of the second book in the series, Merry’s titles are Princess of Flesh and Blood; at the end of the 4th book, The Red And White Goddess is added to her title by demi-fey who gave her the title when her magic gave wings to wingless demi-fey.
The series chronicles the return of Meredith to the Unseelie Court by way of an invitation sent by her Aunt Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness in the form of her right hand, Doyle, also known as Darkness. She is given men from the queen’s own guard, her Ravens, to guard her body and fill her bed as heir to the throne, provided she can conceive a child before her cousin. Later Merry adds to her collection of men first by taking the men offered to her by Queen Andais, as well as forming alliances with the Demi-fey and goblins.
Meredith formed her first alliance with Sholto, King of the Sluagh, when he is sent to Los Angeles to kill her. Merry has sex with Sholto. They are interrupted by Nerys The Gray, who attempts to kill Merry. Merry comes into her first hand of power (the Hand of Flesh), and uses her newly found hand of power on Nerys, who is a night hag. Nerys is immortal and cannot die, so Merry turns her into an inside-out ball of flesh.
The second alliance is formed between Merry and Kurag, King of the Goblins. This occurs when Merry is bled by the roses that line the entrance to the throne room of the Unseelie Court. She nearly passes out from blood loss and opens her eyes to see one of the goblins drinking from her open wound, (to goblins bodily fluids are sacred). She has the goblin detained and bargains with Kurag for a 6 month alliance in return for Merry taking a goblin (Kitto) into her bed. She deems this acceptable payment for the theft of her blood. Later Merry bargains for an extended alliance of 1 month for each sidhe-sided goblin that she brings into power. Also, Merry brings the Red Caps back to their full original power because she is the only Sidhe who possesses the full Hand of Blood.
The final alliance is struck between Merry and Queen Niceven (of the Demi-Fey). This is struck when Merry bargains for the cure to a curse that the Demi-Fey placed on Galen, one of Merry’s guards. She bargains with Niceven for a year alliance, during which the demi-fey will spy for Merry in exchange for weekly blood donations. Merry heals Nicca, one of her guards, who is a demi-fey born without wings. The wings that he should have been born with were now a supernatural tattoo on his back, created by Merry. Because of this, Queen Niceven sends to Meredith the Demi-Fey that were born without wings, in hopes that she will also heal them.

Brad Pitt – Sholto

Sholto is the King of the Sluagh, one of the courts within the Unseelie Court as well as one of the Queen’s Ravens. Sholto is half sidhe and half nightflyer. While Sidhe are considered the most beautiful of the fey, nightflyers are considered the most horrific. Some consider Sholto a sign of the weakening blood of the sidhe, since prior to his birth sidhe genetics always triumphed no matter who or what the sidhe bred with. He is in essence however, the very embodiment of all that it means to be Unseelie. Sholto has tentacles growing from his stomach. A relatively young sidhe, Sholto is not above admitting when he is wrong. He was raised by Black Agnes, one of the nighthags of the Sluagh. Sholto also leads the Wild Hunt. King of the Sluagh, Lord of That Which Passes Between, Lord of Shadows, Unseelie Court

Tyson Beckford – Doyle

Doyle is the Captain of the Queen’s Ravens , her assassin, and the acknowledged champion of the Unseelie Court. It is said that when he speaks the Queen’s words come out. His livery is a spider. Doyle is capable of traveling through mirrors as well as communicating through them. He is able to shapeshift into a Gabriel Ratchet (hellhound or hound of the hunt), a horse, and an eagle. He is able to bespell others with flickering lights in his eyes. Doyle is also known as the Bearer of the Painful Flame, a sickly greenish flame able to bring the true death to immortals. Doyle has been the Queen’s Darkness for over a thousand years, and though he loved her once his loyalties have shifted to Meredith.Later he becomes the king of Meredith Gentry. He is often referred to by Andais as “My Darkness”. Captain of the Queen’s Ravens, Bearer of the Painful Flame, Unseelie Court

Frost – Ryan Gosling

Frost was never born, but he was made from hoar frost. At some point on the whim of a god he was made sidhe. Frost was once part of the Seelie Court , but having been created and not born sidhe, he was never good enough for the glittering throng. While the Seelie Court’s powers waned, his continued to grow as humans continued to remember and believe in Jack Frost. He then joined the Unseelie Court and has been Doyle’s second-in-command among the Queen’s Ravens. Frost was Andais’ consort over 800 years ago. The Killing Frost, Jack Frost