It's been five years since Kai's life was completely turned upside down, but he is extremely grateful for the things that have happened. The deaths not included, things have changed for the better. Kai feels that if those men and Thorn hadn't showed up at his home, Abby wouldn't be his girlfriend, Chase wouldn't be his best friend, Shintaro wouldn't be an amazing "therapist" (as Chase calls it) to Kai, Linda wouldn't be like a mother to him, Gabriel wouldn't be the funny-in-his-own-antisocial-way friend (he had his own home in the town, so he often visited), and Kai wouldn't be as close to his father has he is now. Kai is actually enjoying his new life in this strange town. The village is "ruled" by a young woman named Ruby, and everyone there adores her for being such a great leader. Kai has only met her once or twice, but she seems very nice.
But there is something prickling at the back of Kai's mind, and it unsettles him greatly. Ever since Moon vanished after killing Luke, she hasn't been spotted anywhere. Kai often wonders if she is somewhere far from where they are now, planning her next attack.
When a series of strange events start happening around the town, Kai is certain that Moon is back and playing her game with them. In a way, he is right. But there are many things that he is also wrong about. During the midst of it all, Shintaro gets captured, sending Kai down a path of despair and hopelessness. He feels responsible for getting Shintaro back, but he doesn't know what he's up against. Thankfully, his friends don't let him do it by himself. As always, they have his back. And soon, new friends are there behind him, too.
The group finds that Moon is behind all of this, but she isn't doing it for herself. She has Shintaro for a certain reason, and the friends are soon to find out what is at stake. The lives of others, including loved ones.
Trauma is a scary thing. Kai, age ten, figures this out the hard way. His mother is brutally murdered right in front of him, and his father was never seen after leaving for work that day. Kai is taken away by a scary, commanding man with blood red eyes. The man takes Kai to a big space underground, where there are many beaten and exhausted looking people in cages. Kai doesn't understand what is going on, but he doesn't want to ask the scary man who calls himself Thorn.
Kai soon finds out the place is ruled by Thorn, and there are many other scary people with strange powers. There is a large, empty space in the middle, and that place is used for fighting. Kai is in awe of all of this, but mostly scared of what Thorn will do to him.
Kai wakes up the next morning in one of the big cages. He doesn't remember what happened, but he feels different. What will Kai do when he finds out that he is now one of Thorn's minions -- a Dark? How will he escape this torture? Where is his father? Is there any point in living when all Thorn does is almost kill him?