Having only a single name, as has become custom among the villagers of Farthrow since the fall of the colony,Kevin looks upon his world dissatisfied.
Determined to change his fate, Kevin develops a fascination for the mysterious and ancient palace, a building of glass and steel that stands like a lonely sentinel on a promontory near the village. A sullen river slips past it’s walls and into the ocean, cutting a deep gouge into the stone of the butte. When Kevin finally gains entry into the building via less than ideal passage, resorting to a kind of sewer passage opening from the rocks above that river in preference to incineration by unknown forces at the front gate, his life turns in ways he could not have imagined.
Suddenly thrust by his incursion into their space into the service of the Shades, Kevin must face his fears and the terrors of his world to accomplish the mission they set for him. In so doing, he becomes an important member of their secretive order, dragging his friends along with him as he rushes head first into the unknown. Kevin’s attitudes and prejudice are tested, shaking to the core his belief and understanding of the nature of the world.
In this journey of discovery, Kevin the Shade emerges from the past that was Kevin the boy, farmers child, peasant lad. Kevin settles into his role, in spite of his hubris bringing some unfortunate events, and goes on to lead a long life in service to the order.