As a boy, he felt like an alien. But what makes him strange also makes him strong... Tyler Haggerty grew up in a small, confined world, hidden in a house in the country. He didn't look like other children, and he had highly unusual abilities. His parents talked about birth defects and genetic disorders-but never a real answer to his question: What am I? But after his parents are murdered, Tyler winds up in a much bigger place: New York City. Intent on finding the monster responsible for shattering his life, he seeks the help of his friend, bail bondsman Jason Masters-and meets Luna Rath, a woman with a quick wit and quicker trigger finger, who may prove an invaluable ally if she doesn't drive him crazy first. He has no choice but to depend on them-and on his own inexplicable ability to conjure the dark of night from nowhere. As enemies emerge and war breaks out in the streets of the city, Tyler, Jason, and Luna prepare for a reckoning with a ruthless criminal mastermind. What Tyler doesn't yet realize is that the truth about what he is will lead him to venture farther than he ever dreamed. And when he gets there, he'll burn like a dark fire-and prove that a pawn can be the most dangerous piece in an intergalactic game of chess...