It's been 18 years since the world fell apart. Without the apparatus of civilization to protect and support them, most people died. Sickness and starvation claimed many. Many more died at each other's hands. Whole cities died, as their means of sustenance evaporated. In California, as in other western states, all vestiges of centralized government disappeared. Survival required strength, resourcefulness, or invisibility. Yet somehow, Taine Doolittle survived and thrived with his parents in an isolated Sierra valley. As a child, Taine acquired an imaginary friend, Coyoteman, who taught him philosophy, introspection, and paths to wisdom. Now twenty, Taine sets off on a journey to end his loneliness. His rite of passage takes him to the City-State of Las Vegas, a place of miracles, love, and danger. But not everything is like it seems. Coyoteman himself turns out to be anything but imaginary. His visions bring depth to Taine's adventures tracing back to the dawn of civilization, and some of Coyoteman's battle scars predate humanity itself. Can Taine survive so close to the fire of immortality. Coyoteman has all the time in the world, but time is something that Taine has precious little of. And Coyoteman is not the only one of his kind.