Dance of Knives

Vancouver in the 22nd century remains a vibrant seaport city despite the global economic collapse and massive sea level rise that have transformed the Pacific Northwest. A city of stark contrasts, Vancouver is divided between its prospering Guild citizens and the starving descendants of American refugees who fled ecological catastrophe and political chaos decades ago.
The captain of a fishing boat, young Klale Renhardt belongs to the powerful Fishers Guild - but she chafes at the confines of Guild life in her north coast town. Fleeing to Vancouver, Klale discovers that survival is bitterly difficult on the half-drowned, ungoverned island of Downtown, where beggars line the streets and every type of trade is controlled by tongs and gangs. When she finds a job through Toni, the tough, beautiful American bartender at the famous KlonDyke nightclub, Klale begins to feel safe - until she hears that Toni may have once been a torturer for the tongs.
Worse, Toni seems to have a disturbing connection with Blade, the giant, bio-altered slave of Downtown's most feared blackmailer, Choi Shung Wai. Blade is Choi's enforcer, and Klale, like everyone else, fears the rage that simmers behind the giant's eyes. When Klale attracts the vengeful attention of a hidden enemy, Blade may be the only person who can save her. But Blade's psyche has been so profoundly twisted by Choi's neural implants that he doesn't even know he's human. If Klale can't find a way to help him discover his own soul, she may not survive either her murderous enemy or the looming tong war.