Viv has been living alongside behindkind and fae in the Historic Renner Tea House in Melbourne for nearly a month now. In that time, she's been almost killed by friends and enemies alike, discovered that the human world is not the only world on the edges of her reality, and become a glorified babysitter for Luca, an unstable assassin of otherworldly creatures who has nightmares that are a bit too . . . real. She has uncovered mysteries and murderers—and discovered just a bit too much about herself into the bargain.

Now a small selkie has turned up on her windowsill, while a nightmare has begun stalking the floors of the Tea House, and Viv is certain the two things are connected. The selkie's human sponsor has disappeared, as has his pelt, and there's no help to be had from the selkies, who won't interfere with a traditional sojourn of one of their own on solid land.

Between her boss Jasper's dislike of doing anything he doesn't get paid for, and Luca's disinclination to do anything to help behindkind rather than humans, Viv is finding it hard to get to the bottom of the disappearance. But if she doesn't, the nightmare that has infiltrated the Tea House might burgeon into daylight reality, and the little selkie won't get his pelt back. And without his pelt, it's just a matter of time before Kyma crumbles away into dust . . .