Death is her milieu. Harvard PhD student Aleksi Rychenkna lives for ages past. She loves the peace of solitary study, peace from people, from questions, from human interaction. Now she has a new advisor, a new project, and a fascinating new mystery to explore. When she discovers a preserved specimen that defies identification and contains human DNA, the lure of the unknown is irresistible. But this mystery runs deeper than Aleksi bargains for. Not only are there more, and more powerful, people interested in her work than she ever expected, but after an accidental exposure to the specimen's strange DNA, she finds herself.changing.

Aleksi begins to have bizarre dreams, nightmares of blood filled with violent images and urges. Her reflexes and instincts sharpen, and she is suddenly stronger and faster than she should be. But what happens when she realizes her dreams are something far more? Because they're not dreams at all. They're memories.