The Burning Gem spins from chance meeting of a woman ready for adventure after years in a loveless marriage and a mysterious artisan who will show her another world. Barbara has always had an uncanny ability to read others, but her full empathic skills emerge only after a part of her soul is crystalized into a flaming red gem. Desperate to escape her soul-crushing suburban life and to reconnect with the mysterious man who made her gem, she makes her way on foot through the terrifying New York City subway tunnels to find an abandoned station. Zoltan is a gem maker who lives an existence of opulent bitterness. Along with a network of other agents, his job is to catch souls and form them into magnificent jewels. He works with referrals only, and how his clients - rising CEOs, ambitious politicians, vainglorious religious leaders -- are selected is of no concern to him. He is 110 years old. While Zoltan's contract with the hideous Mester - who may or may not be human - promises him wealth and extended life, it also prohibits him from touching another person, or even sharing his true name. Zoltan risks everything to discover the true nature of the sinister cabal he has been part of. Their base of operations is a long-forgotten 1873 subway terminal, now transformed into the Market, a hidden community of seers, shapeshifters, artisans with extraordinary skills, keepers of ancient knowledge. From here Barbara and Zoltan follow leads that take them to the ruin bars and dark alleys of Budapest in a desperate race to find the truth and neutralize the Mester before he kills them.