Charles Unwin works as a records clerk at a vast detective agency in a rainy, unnamed city. His job consists of filing reports written by the agency's celebrity detective, Travis Sivart. When Sivart disappears, Unwin is abruptly promoted to detective and assigned to investigate the case. Ill-prepared for the role, he relies heavily on
The Manual of Detection, the agency's authoritative guidebook on investigative methods, as well as on his
narcoleptic assistant, Emily Doppel. During the investigation, Unwin encounters several mysterious figures from Sivart's previous cases, including Cleopatra Greenwood, an enigmatic nightclub singer; Jasper and Josiah Rook, a pair of former
conjoined twins; and Enoch Hoffman, a
biloquist capable of imitating thousands of voices. As Unwin pursues the case, strange phenomena relating to sleep begin to spread through the city: alarm clocks disappear and citizens begin sleepwalking in large droves. Unwin gradually uncovers evidence that Sivart's celebrated past cases may have been solved incorrectly and is led to a conspiracy involving crimes committed through people's dreams. == Reception ==