During a protracted civil war that pitted the North against the South, the outnumbered Northerners used dark magic to create monsterous super-soldiers called Incarnates. Now that the war has ended, those Sacred Beasts must learn to make their way in a peaceful society, or face death at the hands of a Beast Hunter. Nancy Schaal Bancroft, the daughter of an Incarnate, turns to hunting the hunter herself. But once she catches up with her quarry, she discovers hard truths about the lives of these Sacred Beasts.
Hank and Schaal arrive at the small mining town of Coalwalls, situated within the borders of New Patria. Cain has made the town a Divine Protectorate under the aegis of the Incarnate Griffin, whom Hank has come to kill. But once in Coalwalls they encounter Faun, daughter of the former mine owner and leader of a gang of roughnecks who are fighting to take back what New Patria has stolen from them. This is a hard place, where no one can live on kindness alone ... How far will Faun go to regain what was taken from her? And will she side with the man who has come to kill the Incarnate Griffin—who was once her father, Francis Wells?