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 Singh, 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...