Alan Shaw is at it again. From homeless urchin to world-class adventurer, Alan has tackled magic, myths and machines, lost love and made one fatal mistake. In an effort to come to terms with what he has done, Alan heads into the East and disappears from the world. His new partner, the loyal and straight-talking pilot, Merry, might just bring him out of his darkness. Or maybe Alan's curse will take them both to places from which they can never return. Ancient dangers return to smother the world in sand, the demonic cult leader Volkert rises again, and Alan's past will come back to deliver a haymaker. But those are the least of his worries because, on the streets of London, Mister Slay is leaving a wake of fear and blood, daring Alan to return home. With his life as a Privateer taking him from China to Chicago, Egypt to the East End, the danger and wry wit keeps coming in this much-anticipated sequel to a Steampunk epic adventure.