Constable McFarlan has a problem-his town's on fire. A Kentucky mining community nestled in the hollows of the Appalachian Mountains, Shard, was the picture of Small Town America. But in 1989 The Fire changed everything. A mysterious accident set the coal seam ablaze and Shard began a slow death burn. The smolder spread beneath the streets, fiery sinkholes swallowed entire houses and the air turned sulfurous. Twenty years later, only Will Two-Bears McFarlan and a few eccentric hold-outs remain to walk Shard's cracked boulevards and fill its once proud Victorians. But they are not alone. The cause of The Fire has awakened. Above ground, a corporate mining concern and its high-powered law firm will scheme to strip away the last vestiges of humanity from Shard. Below, ancient forces will battle for dominion over the town and ultimately the world. Caught in the middle are the people of Shard. Some will fight. Some will die. All will walk into the light.