Lightning-Hunter, Ash, chases living lightning over the dark rooftops. This energy the jet- black city depends upon, is all that stands between him and starvation. When a monstrous nightmare attacks his gang, death is all but certain - until Ash manages to dream a shadow creature to protect him. But this new power comes with a price and will see him either sent to the harrowing Academy to weaponise his gift or under the thumb of an Archdreamer patron who will use him to their own ends.

Geil is a Nightmare-Hunter and Dream-mutt; half-human, half-dream creation. Torn between the desires of her violent dragon's heart and a need to pacify the guilt she feels for her lover's death she seeks a balance to bring her peace. But upon returning to the city, she stumbles across a plot by her old master and nemesis to unseat the Archdreamers. She must find a way to accept the dragon within her to stop a nightmare being unleashed that will destroy her home and everything she cares about.

The Motherstorm rages eternal over the city and only the Wailers, a devout sisterhood of singers, can calm it. When Daerna's order insists on ignoring the mysterious Wilting plague that is infecting the city's populace, Daerna chooses to find the root of the disease even if it leads her into the darkest heart of the city - and her own death.

As each draws closer to their goals, they discover a connection between the plague, the city and those who have been manipulating the dreaming power for their own ends. If they can't find a way to learn from the secrets the city has buried within its past, then their whole world will turn into a living nightmare.