Book One

On the island city state of Tehama, Niko “Spiffy Rings” is trapped in a cycle of flashbacks and vengeance. He’s been in a malaise ever since he caught six bullets outside Cafe Ola five years ago.

Oona Elm Tree has trudged her way up from a hardscrabble life in the streets to a power player atop the booming gleam-dream business. Oona’s highly touted gleam shop, Yesterday’s Villains, is a rival of Niko’s shop. Like Niko, Oona is wedged between her loyalty to old guard racketeers like Sunny, and her desire to carve her own path into the future. When Niko is asked to orchestrate the rubout of a powerful tycoon on behalf of Oona, Niko must swallow his pride for the big score.

Reality mixes with dreams amidst a boozy backdrop of eccentric hustlers where the steamy atmosphere is precarious at best. Underworld tremors shake up a wild cast of characters whom seek lifelines to the past, where things from the old world like the Congo River, Hawaii, and corndogs hold mystery.