Ethan wakes up in a dark, grimy room. His head spins as he realizes he has no memory of how he got here. The house is small, decrepit, and filled with the smell of poverty. The body he inhabits belongs to Elias Darnell, a 17-year-old boy living in the slums of a fictional Victorian-era. Elias's family is destitute, and his mother has recently died, leaving him to care for his frail younger sister, Lily. With no father around—he abandoned them years ago—Elias struggles to survive by working menial jobs.
Ethan is overwhelmed by the grimness of his new reality. In this world, the rich live in luxury while the poor like Elias endure squalor and brutality. Magic exists, but only a privileged few have access to its power. Ethan has to quickly adapt to his new circumstances, despite the mystery of his transformation.
Shortly after waking, Ethan experiences heightened senses and more agile, stronger, and faster than he ever was before. His senses are overwhelmingly sharp, and his emotions and physical sensations are heightened to an almost painful degree. At first, he chalks it up to magic or the side effects of his transmigration, but he can't shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong.