Every few days the handsome stranger comes into the café in Lowtown for an hour at a time. Mostly he keeps himself to himself – one drink and he leaves. Sometimes people meet with him but about what remains elusive, the edge of mystery and danger adding to his allure.

Not that Ember is allowed to think about him. She’s finally on the cusp of gaining her citizenship and escaping Lowtown for good, so she can’t be seen to be involved with a vampire – evidence of one single bite would be the end of her prospects.

But when those prospects are rocked by her links to the district’s dark underbelly, the stranger she must avoid could be her absolution – and she could be his . . .

Rowen's nephew is missing somewhere in Lowtown - maybe even in Blackthorn. Simon is all she has left of her brother and she promised she'd always look out for his son. But when the overstretched and under-resourced authorities refuse to help her, she turns to the only other option she has: finding him for herself.

Acts of defiance against his pack leader lead to lycan Connor being banished from his pack in Blackthorn. Having taken haven in Lowtown, he has no sense of purpose and barely even has his self-respect - that is until he discovers he's not quite the bastard he likes to convince himself he is when he finds a feisty redhead way out of her depth.

Rowen knows as much as everyone else does that rogue lycans are bad news - unpredictable, lethal and unreliable. But she also knows the six-foot-two-inch walking embodiment of reckless danger is exactly what she needs to help her navigate the lethal streets of Lowtown - maybe even Blackthorn - to get the answers she needs.

Connor knows Rowen's mission is a lost cause, and starting to care is the last thing he needs. Finding just how much trouble her nephew is in, and now Rowen too, leaves Connor knowing he should walk away - even more so when he finds himself facing a past he'd rather forget. But it's hard to turn his back in a girl who has started to trust him, to depend on him, even if she doesn't want to admit it . . .