Max Carbian is a private detective working in the not too distant future of Northern California. By the time of the story, the entire San Francisco Bay area has become one sprawling interconnection of cities and principalities. The police department has been centralized under the overall jurisdiction of the BAPD, Bay Area Police Department.

Recurring characters of note include:

• Detective Sergeant Davis of the BAPD: He's smart and he is a good cop, but he doesn't particularly like Max. There's one in every bunch. But hey, you can't please everyone, right?
• Detective Emily Yee of the BAPD: She's even smarter than Davis, but doesn't share his dislike of Max.
• Vincent Chau: Max's original sponsor and occasional source of help or information. He is a wealthy business man. The full scope of Vincent's activities are a bit grey. The bottom line is that he owes Max a debt he can never repay. Good thing for Max it isn't the other way around.
• Cynthia Chau: The beautiful, independent, impulsive and dangerous daughter of Vincent Chau. Once she adopts a cause, there are few lines she won't cross to support it.
• Kwan: Vincent Chau's muscle and number one assas... err... assistant.
• Edgar Sanchez: Owner of Pacific Pawn. He only deals in legally acquired merchandise. Really.

The story of how Max became a private detective from being an out-of-work writer working as a security guard is covered in Blood on the Dragon.

Max's exploits continue in Chains of the Dragon.

More information about Max and his stories will be provided at a later date.