When Leopold Orso received his appointment as detective-constable of the New Babylon detective police, he could not even imagine that from now on he would have to track down succubi, expel poltergeists and hunt werewolves. But even as the new job became routine, shivers ran down his spine from the memories of his first investigation, the Bloody Tree case. The Second Empire stretches from ocean to ocean, army airships soar in the skies, armadillos plow the waters, but the basis of the power of the state lies in industry . And when workers begin to disappear at one of the factories, the capital's detective police are brought in to investigate. But the detectives have no idea what the acrid smoke of factory chimneys can bring to life...