Human life has been devasted by an unstoppable virus ... Not a disease, but a chemical reaction that attacks iron, destroying everything that contains them and setting civilization back hundreds of years. It even affects the iron that is present in blood—enough to cause bizarre mutations and affect human fertility. Amid the resulting chaos, one man has set himself an unusual mission: to transport anything anywhere for anyone—for a price. But what he asks in return is no less mystifying than his self-appointed role... as the Transporter.

The Transporter never refuses a mission... on one condition: that on completion, his "clients" swallow an egg. Only one other person knows what the eggs are and what they do to the people who ingest them—and she is hunting the Transporter down. She finally catches up with him in Arcasso, the "City of a Thousand Spires," where the Duke is attempting to regenerate the human race—through nightly debauchery. When he enlists the Transporter in his cause, the woman is forced into action, setting off a chain of events that will ultimately reveal the source of the Transporter's power... and the terrible truth behind his eggs.

Against an insidious evil, one woman resists in an effort to save her family, and alter the destiny of humankind. The iron will of Minerva has kept her together through great personal tragedy. A scientist turned sorcerer in the eyes of the world, she has devoted her life to finding and saving the man she loves, who has answered the call of the Transporter. Now Minerva is finally closing in, and she has called upon Nose to help complete her mission. But can she alone stem the tide of chaos sweeping across humanity?

Minerva's beloved Kivan is back, but it seems his soul still belongs to the Mother, and unfortunately, the stores of antidote are quickly diminishing. Though she was unable to save their son Iram, Minerva may still be able to rescue Kivan. To do so, she'll have no choice but to find the ship and kill the Mother. That is, if the horde of Transporters, Nature, and the mysterious guy who's hot on her heels don't get to her first...