The silicon revolution left Carl Dremmler behind. But a good detective is never obsolete. London's quiet in 2039-thanks to the machines. People stay indoors, communicating through high-tech glasses and gorging on simulated reality while 3D printers and scuttling robots cater to their every whim. Mammoth corporations wage war for dominance in a world where human augmentation blurs the line between flesh and steel. And at the center of it all lurks TIM: the hyper-advanced, omnipresent AI that drives our cars, flies our planes, cooks our food, and plans our lives. Everything humanity requires. Everything except a soul.Through this silicon jungle prowls Carl Dremmler, police detective-one of the few professions better suited to meat than machine. His latest case: a grisly murder seemingly perpetrated by the victim's boyfriend. Dremmler's boss wants a quick end to the case, but the tech-wary detective can't help but believe the accused's bizarre story: that his robotic arm committed the heinous crime, not him. An advanced prosthetic, controlled by a chip in his skull. A chip controlled by TIM.Dremmler smells blood: the seeds of a conspiracy that could burn London to ash unless he exposes the truth. His investigation pits him against desperate criminals, scheming businesswomen, deadly automatons-and the nightmares of his own past. And when Dremmler finds himself questioning even TIM's inscrutable motives, he's forced to stare into the blank soul of the machine.