Bloom: Book One Of The Metro Cycle

Shiro Bloom -- Investigative Reporter, P.I., and all-around snoop -- receives a mysterious package in the middle of the night. Inside the envelope is a data card -- protected by security he can't even begin to decipher. Intrigued, he reaches the remote-robot-body Puppeteer and master hacker, Gwen Five-Ginch. A long-time friend, Gwen's curiosity is piqued by the challenge, and she agrees to a trade: he'll investigate the sudden exit of Gwen's socialite girlfriend from their relationship, and she'll crack the card. As Shiro's investigation starts to give him reason suspect that the mysterious Xian Lin is a figment of Gwen's imagination -- a phantom personality given life by the effects of Cognitive Disassociation Syndrome -- events turn in an unexpected and deadly direction. Now, with unknown assassins searching for the data on the card, Shiro must decide who he can trust, and who is behind a dangerous plot that could endanger millions.