Todd Malcolm would be the first person to tell you that he's no Basil Stark. He's just a bouncer, part-time detective's assistant, and brawler who does his best to get by on the mean streets of 1950s Everland, relying on a keen eye and a quick temper that gets him into trouble as often as out of it. Everland is a dangerous place to poke at secrets. Colonized by corporate interests in the 1930s, it is an island of industry, fading magic, and political and corporate greed.

When Todd gets mixed up in an arson one night and gets fingered for the crime, he's thrown in over his head. With Basil Stark, Everland's premiere detective, caught up in his own problems, Todd is going to have to rely on an eclectic collection of friends and allies to clear his name and untangle a plot of blackmail and murder that threatens to overwhelm everyone that he loves.

Joined by his good friend Glimmer the fairy and Vance Carson, known throughout Everland as 'that other detective', Todd will have to contend with federal agents, angry tigers, murderous mermaids, and shadowy threats at every turn. Does Todd have what it takes to handle this case, or is he just a pawn in a dangerous plot?