Chaos sometimes needs a guiding hand.

Wildblood, a new drug, has swept Los Angeles. The Earth Ward and local law enforcement have no idea where it came from or all of its impacts other than it makes Outsiders shift in public. The nonhuman masquerade can't be violated, and the growing Wildblood epidemic is getting out of control.

Enter Earth Ward Inspector Dalton Kingston and his team. One problem is navigating LA, which is a hotbed of nonhuman activity. Another issue is that federal agencies aren't on good terms with the Imperium branch that runs LA. Although the Aztec pantheon controls that branch, they've been ostracized by human agencies.

At stake is revealing nonhumans to the world. The few humans who are exposed become wisened, but a massive breakdown in the masquerade would be chaos. Dalton must show why he continues to be sought after for his skills and power, even when the going gets tough, by showing one of his core traits—strength.