The nature of existence comes into question when a young mother is plagued by mental illness. Delilah Montavenir is forced to choose between relinquishing her parental rights or risk having her son face a life of torment. A prodigy and heiress to one of the most influential pharmaceutical companies on earth, Delilah must sacrifice wealth and profound academic achievement to protect her family from a sadistic apparition known as Syla.Her son, Jamaal Wilkins, abandoned and reared by the inner-city, finds himself coming of age amidst criminal enterprise and a familial history of schizophrenia. A drug dealer and delinquent, Jamaal becomes the pawn of the city's most powerful criminal, Elijah Harris.Concurrently and in the execution of her duties, a patrol officer, Mihko Lenaswa, comes to the aid of her city while trying to survive in a police department that does not want her. With the constant threat of violence and unabated sexual advances, the hot-tempered yet exemplary officer finds herself in direct conflict with the power structure. At great sacrifice, the lines between ally and enemy become difficult to see as Mihko becomes the keystone linking everyone together while Elijah Harris manages to outflank police at every turn.