Crow and Canary: Blood Ties is the first part of the new superhero thriller series, Crow and Canary. Crow and Canary: Blood Ties tells the first part of the story of Zoe Corvo, later know as Crow, and Laura Drake, who uses the alias Canary. Zoe is a 22-year-old woman who works as a fortune teller in a circus in Gotham City. Her life lacks direction and she has been drifting from job to job for years. Zoe's real passion has always been magic, but she doesn't follow her passion because her father has ordered her not to do so, fearing Zoe would be consumed by black magic like her mother, Cindy Corvo. Years ago Cindy Corvo became interested in black magic, with the interest quickly becoming an obsession that swallowed her mind. She was locked in a mental institution and later escaped from there, killing several members of the hospital staff with magic. Giovanni banished Cindy into a dimension called Blood World for eternity and ordered her daughter not to ever use magic again.
Laura Drake is a 28-year-old woman working as a café waitress by day and as a vigilante by night. She has two special abilities: "canary scream" and "sensory clairvoyance", with the first being a strong scream capable of shattering metal plates and the other being an ability to read people's memories by touching them. Laura is even able to read the memories of dead people for up to one hour after they have died. Laura and her six-year-old son, Matthew, live with Laura's mother, Rachel Drake. Laura works with the police, using her special ability of seeing people's memories and her detective skills to help them solve crimes.
The paths of Zoe and Laura cross after an assault on Zoe's father, Giovanni Corvo, starts a chain of tragic events. Abnegazar, a demon serving Cindy Corvo, the Blood Queen, soon roams on Earth once more, planning to set two of his demon brothers free with the ultimate goal of releasing Cindy Corvo from captivity. Elsewhere, a young man with the ability to see the future, William Schwarze Junior, kills his abusive father, who was a friend and colleague of Giovanni Corvo and Rachel Drake. The three worked together in a superhero team called Gotham Justice in the 80's before a tragic event changed their lives and forced them to close down the team. William Schwarze Junior doesn't stop after killing his father, and instead starts to hunt down the people who were close to his father. He emerges as a brutal serial killer, carefully executing his plan of crossing out everyone on a list he found from his father's desk: the list of guests for a Gotham Justice reunion.
Crow and Canary tells the story of Zoe and Laura as all hell breaks loose in the streets of Gotham City. The two women need to use every bit of their smarts and abilities to survive a crushing tidal wave of brutal evil. In the process they'll become friends and colleagues as common enemies unite them to fight for their loved ones, and to fight for Gotham.
William Schwarze Senior put the newspaper he had fetched on the small shelf near the door.
"Son, I'm home," he said.
"Is the food ready?" Schwarze Senior asked. William Schwarze Junior looked at his father.
"No, father."
Schwarze Senior stood on the hallway by the door, looking at his son.
"What did you say?" He said.
"You're saying you didn't obey my orders, you little piece of shit?" William Schwarze Senior threw the umbrella to the floor. William Schwarze Junior stared at the street below.
"Father, I had an episode today. Another flashforward."
"Nonsense! Are you saying your stupid little mumbo jumbo episodes somehow prevented you from making dinner for me?" Schwarze Senior grabbed his cane that was leaning to the shelf.
"Father, I saw my own death. It made me think," Schwarze Junior said, in a bleak voice. He was still staring at the street.
"Shut up you bastard! That's it, you're going to the clock!" yelled Schwarze Senior. His face was starting to turn red from anger.