Nineteen-year-old Sam wants more than his unremarkable life in Luminal City. But after his grandmother's death, numerous forces converge upon him, threatening to destroy everything he thought he knew about himself and the oppressive world he calls home. Taken under the wing of Violet and Dean, and fleeing the clutches of the mysterious Mr. Cross, Sam and his new friends find themselves on a journey into the inky darkness at the heart of the City of Light.