Gabriel Moore is no ordinary child. He's not really living... but he's not really dead, either. In 1860, the plantation of Mason Moore - a known Unionist sympathizer - is burned to the ground by secessionists. In the battle, Moore's illegitimate son is killed, but as he gasps his last breaths, a voodoo bokor places a spell upon the dying boy. Flash forward to 2005: four months after the worst natural disaster in its history, New Orleans is gripped by fear as young girls start to disappear from its streets while a brutal gang war rages. When Detective Robert Julien starts to investigate, he finds that there's something else out in the shadows - something that's neither dead nor alive, an enigma. But is it a possible ally or the darkest nightmare of all?