I. Red Epitaph
II. The Envoy, Ala
Jerome Maxwell, an investigator, finds himself caught up in a serial murder case mixed alongside one of the most bizarre interactions of his life...leading up to the end of the world. The murderous John Bradley, as he is called, picks off one child after another and paints their initials on a wall for no logical reason at all. It is up to Jerome and his brother Marley to figure it all out with the assistance of a cast including the robust chief of police, an officer named Blanke, a librarian, and a young and mysterious boy. But Jerome finds himself struggling to focus on anything except the child called Ala, an undocumented ward of the local home for 'unstable children' with a surprising psychological prowess, who is driving Jerome mad. The world is ending, because the world is among us, taunting and playing games, and discovering much about itself.