It takes place way before any of the other books, in 1996 to be exact. But I definitely think this is the place to read it. It's written in a way that I think if you did try to read it in chronological order as the first book, you'd be really confused. I think you'd miss some of the most important tidbits.
So, as I said, it's set way back in time. We actually see Nick as a teen, but I'll come back to that.
We meet Greary and Arik in Greece. Greary's family has been searching for Atlantis for generations. Unfortunately, it's ended in death mostly. After her father dies, she takes over the search.
Arik is a dream god who finds Greary in her dreams and wants to see her in the human world. But here's the problem, all the dream gods were punished by Zeus and stripped of all their emotions. Arik wants to be with her, but doesn't understand the feelings he has. Dream gods should only have feelings in dreams, when they siphon off from the humans who dreams they've invaded. Sometimes, they get carried away and end up addicted to the emotions. Like any addict, the can destroy in an effort to feed that addiction.
Arik was turned into one of those. Think incubus. Anyway, Zeus' curse is weakening, and their getting their emotions back, but Arik doesn't know that. It's a big secret. So, he doesn't realize the feelings he has are his own. He doesn't understand what they are either. So, being the emotionless psycho that he was made, he makes a deal with Hades to be human in exchange for Greary's soul.
