Civilization ended not with a bang but a wimper. After "The Big Sleep," survivors of the ecological collapse have done their best to help humanity claw its way back from the brink of extinction. Against this back drop, Loris, always someone else's property, encounters the enigmatic New Castelians, a society of eccentrics who have decided that if you're going to rebuild society, you should make it faboulous! Their neo-Victorian aesthetic may collide sharply with Loris's pragmatic survivalism, but when Loris finds out she may have a chance to be more than an animal of necessity, she's more than willing to trade up and give high sociey a try. Soon enough she'll learn that in the city of alchemists and thaumaturges, professional adventurers and the unorthodox, oligarchical Wardens, not everything shines in the light of the gas lamps. New Castle's true power lurks in the shadows, and the price the Castelians pay to maintain power and order will also come calling for Loris in a very personal way. If you like the idea of an eco-punk, gas lamp, Victoriana, Oliver Twist fantasy, give this a look over.