An original collection of interwoven short storiesset in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofA Game of Thrones.

An alien virus ravages the world, with effects as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated.

Croyd Crenson is the Wild Card's greatest failureand its greatest success. Dubbed "The Sleeper," he randomly undergoes hibernations that can span weeks or even months. After each hibernation, he awakens with a new appearance and set of powerssometimes a joker, sometimes an ace, and sometimes a combination of bothuntil exhaustion claims him and his next inevitable sleep shuffles the cards anew.Ever since his initial infection in 1946, he's awoken in a singular bodyuntil now. His latest awakening has left him split into six different incarnations, each of them a self-contained piece of the original and each with a unique look and set of powers.

One of them, at least, recognizes this for the the disaster that it is, and tasks the clever and elusive Teslaa joker with ace powersto locate and gather the remaining five versions of himself before sleep claims them again and leaves Croyd permanently fractured. What follows is a journey through Croyds long and colorful life, through the lens of some who have encountered the worlds most unusual wild carder. And as Tesla delves deeper into the investigation, hell have to work fast, because not every Croyd is as amiable as the firstand theyll do whatever it takes to survive.