For those with "the gift," the River is where they go to see things that others cannot; a realm co-existing with our own, filled with ghosts. There's a place in the River that most gifteds will not explore: The Dark River. Its reputation as a place of evil and addiction are well known, and only the foolish, desperate, or depraved would dare to enter. Derick was once a cop who, like every other cop, ignored the strange and inexplicable things that would pop up every now and then in his police work. After he retired, he decided to explore these unresolved things, and he discovered a clandestine world of people who are able to communicate with the dead. Though not gifted himself, he found a way to not only enter the Dark River, but also to make some money, taking contracts to pull people out and back to the real world. This time, the contract he takes turns out to be more than he bargained for, and it takes him deeper into the Dark River than he ever wanted to go. He faces strange, sadistic creatures, an infection that requires routine treatments to keep at bay, and the constant threat of firestorms as he escorts a woman with a secret through the foreboding landscape to her destination in a rebel town. A is a fast-paced paranormal mystery, filled with strange twists and turns in a sinister setting. It's the first book in The Dark River series, set in the same universe as its companion series, The Downwinders and The River.