A volcano erupts, and the world goes to hell in a handbasket.

When Krakatoa erupted in the 6th century, the only people who knew about it - albeit briefly - were those who lived in the immediate vicinity. Others soon learned; those living on nearby islands suffered from catastrophic tidal waves and shipping lanes were disrupted. In China, where Saint-Germain is living peacefully on the proceeds of his shipping business, when trade is disrupted, the economy falters, and he finds his property and money confiscated. With his companion Rogerian, Saint-Germain travels west as the weather deteriorates world-wide. Years of unseasonably cold summers and unreasonably cold winters wreak havoc on the world's economy and ecology as Saint-Germain travels to the one place where he is always truly at home ... Transylvania.