In a world of clockwork cities and talking monsters, where logic is based on fantasy and laws are constructed by madmen, Jing is the greatest of all thieves. He can steal the very stars, or even a human life. He is the King of Bandits. His latest heists are his greatest and most bizarre yet. First Jing and his lecherous bird sidekick Kir must cross the Milky Way to steal back freedom for the Porvoras, a tribe of living bombs enslaved in the Sangria mines. In his next adventure, Jing and Kir are in search of eternal life and are escorted by the comely android Vermouth to the play where the Aqua Vitae is kept. Little do they know that they are being followed by rival thieves Pernod and China Lilet.