In a world rebuilding after global mechanized war, chaos and ethnic tensions rule.City-states like Blightcross prosper under dictatorships built upon oil production. Refugees flock to the city-state to find work in the massive oil refineries. The black blood of Blightcross is replacing vihs-draaf, the magic of the Ehzeri people, but magic hasn't entirely disappeared...yet.For fugitive soldier and thief Capra Jorassian, Blightcross is an opportunity to earn enough money for her freedom. Stealing an enchanted painting from the dictator's collection is nothing new. But the simple heist gets complicated quickly when Capra's childhood friend shows up, bent on bringing her back for court martial. Then her eccentric employer, the creator of the painting, is kidnapped, throwing Capra into a struggle for the survival of Blightcross, with only her enemies as allies.Till Sevari, the mad dictator of Blightcross, wants the secrets of the painting, and he'll do anything to get them. But when the deadly forces within the painting spiral out of his control, Capra is the only one who can defeat them - by finding a power just as deadly, hidden beneath the lies of her own culture...Blightcross breaks the boundaries of steampunk, using fantasy to explore the world of post-colonialism and the greed of oil dependent cultures.