Summary

In Chapter 1, the novel Afterlife opens in the year 1532 following Edmund, a young beggar boy in London. Edmund kills a sailor and takes his place as an apprentice on the ship the Persephone, headed for the New World. On their way back, a storm kills much of the crew and the remainder turns to cannibalism. Edmund is the last survivor but still ends up dying, just a mile from land. He awakes in another world, possibly Hell, and kills a man-demon in self-defense. This allows Edmund to be reborn and live as a Unalachtigo tribe member until a bear kills him and his family. Edmund decides to kill again in the possibly Hell world in order to be reborn again.

In Chapter 2, in Chicago, FBI agent Will Brody comes across the body of a murdered woman, surrounded by bystanders. Turns out, this woman...