Gene, orphaned at the young age of three, adapts to a life of pick-pocketing and treehouses. Bullied by a group of kids, one of them defends Gene. His name being Vylad, they becomes friends quickly after. He leads Gene back to his house, where his brothers and parents live. Garroth is the eldest, and Zane is the middle child. After an incident a few years back, Zane became blind. The two now living together, they grow closer in more ways than one.