Mortise Locke, the Machine City, last bastion of mankind in all its fallen glory, where the sum total of life is cheaper than in part. A poor kid wrung from the city's dregs has been abducted. His family's lost all hope. Enter Detective Shakteel, gumshoe legend in his own mind and maybe - just maybe - a few others. He's the bloodhound loosed on the kid's trail, and it's clear from the get-go that someone wants this hound put down. And they ain't shy about it. Killers keep coming. And the clock keeps ticking... Can Detective Shakteel navigate the labyrinth of Mortise Locke's criminal...