"Reminiscent of the edgy, offbeat humor of Chris Moore and Matt Ruff, the first entry in a whimsical, fast-paced supernatural series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim novels--a dark and humorous story involving a doomsday gizmo, a horde of baddies determined to possess its power, and a clever thief who must steal it back. again and again. 2000 B.C. A beautiful, ambitious angel stands on a mountaintop, surveying the world and its little inhabitants below. He smiles because soon, the last of humanity who survived the great flood will meet its end, too. And he should know. Hes going to play a big part in it. Our angel usually doesnt get to do field work, and if he does well, hes certain hell get a big promotion. And now its time.The angel reaches into his pocket for the instrument of humanitys doom. Must be in the other pocket. Then he frantically begins to pat himself down. Dejected, he realizes he has lost the object. Looking over the Earth at all that could have been, the majestic angel utters a single word."Crap." 2015. A thief named Coop--a specialist in purloining magic objects --steals and delivers a small box to the mysterious client who engaged his services. Coop doesnt know that his latest job could be the end of him--and the rest of the world. Suddenly he finds himself in the company of The Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome enforcement agency that polices the odd and strange. The box isnt just a supernatural heirloom with quaint powers, they tell him. Its a doomsday device. They think.And suddenly, everyone is out to get it"-- Provided by publisher.

An angel, poised at destroying the last remnants of humanity in 2000 B.C., discovers that he has lost the device set to end it all until it turns up in the hands of a thief of magical objects in 2015.