Book one in a series. The rats below are on the rise. Separated by seventy years, Kahle Desireau and Eli Steiner are former military, still caught in the fight for survival. One driven by love... Kahle Desireau returns from the Bosnian War haunted by his childhood gift, seeing the "black smoke" - the auras of the dead and dying, for an attempt at a normal life. - Meet the girl of his dreams? Check. - Get a job in a factory? Check. - Join a rebellion? Check. ...one consumed by desperation. Eli Steiner has spent his life after World War I helping others. Then a yellow roadster comes to town...