Randyll Tephius should've known he'd get in trouble. The mystical, energetic substance Vril has ushered in an industrial age monopolized by the elite Alchemists. Ran's University thesis on newly-discovered oil deposits threatens them enough to see the student Artificer expelled in disgrace. He survives on the streets until being rescued by an unlikely benefactor: aging mob boss Gouger Nebb.

Ran seizes the chance to rebuild his career, using mob money to fund ingenious inventions and allow Nebb to retire as a 'legitimate businessman.' But while struggling not to become a gangster himself, Ran's efforts meet with sabotage, and he maneuvers among rival gangs, aristocrats and sadistic police to expose the perpetrators. The Alchemists who ruined his life emerge from the shadows, now offering wealth and redemption if he'll switch sides and help them expand their deadly monopoly worldwide. It's a tempting proposal that means betraying the very man who saved him.