The Drifter is wandering with no memory of his identity or how he came to be randomly jumping through time and space. An encounter with a familiar, lethally vengeful woman sets him on a path to recovering powers that come with being an Essential, an immortal whose abilities center around Natures, natural concepts made manifest. He learns that he has been hunted across centuries by Azrael, another Essential whose Nature is death itself. He escapes Azrael with the help of Liara, who creates things from the fabric of the universe, and rediscovers his history with Edison, who controls everything related to communication. They seek the Alabaster Egg, the physical epitome of life, to counteract Azrael’s control over death. But confronting an immortal who can unmake anything, including death, will require great sacrifice. Crawford’s fast-paced contemporary fantasy often jumps from scene to scene like a stone skipping across water, but it will appeal to readers who care more about large doses of history and myth than depth of setting or plot. (BookLife)