Vancouver in the twenty-second century is a city of stark contrasts, divided between its prospering Guild citizens and the starving descendants of American refugees who fled ecological catastrophe and political chaos decades ago.Newcomer Klale Renhardt is struggling to survive on the half drowned, ungoverned island of Downtown, where every type of trade is led by tongs or gangs. When she finds a job through Toni, the tough, beautiful American bartender at the famous KlonDyke nightclub, Klale finally allows herself to feel safe - until she hears that Toni may have been a torturer for the tongs.Even more disturbing is Toni's strange connection with Blade, the giant, bio-altered slave of Downtown's most feared blackmailer. Klale fears the rage that simmers behind the giant's eyes, but when she attracts the vengeful attention of a hidden enemy, Blade may be the only person who can save her.Blade's psyche has been so profoundly twisted by neural implants that he doesn't even realize he's human. If Klale can't find a way to help him discover his own soul, she may not survive either her murderous enemy or the looming tong war.