Life’s a gamble. And David’s partner has lost so much at the blackjack tables that David is forced to close their restaurant, the hippest little place in Portland. He sells everything and moves back home. But at thirty-five, he’s not eager to sleep alone in his childhood bed. He needs to start over, maybe with someone like the elusive man who keeps showing up in his dreams. An old friend offers David a job catering a movie set in Puerto Vallarta. He stuffs his few remaining possessions in a backpack and takes the next flight down. All he has left are his dreams. And what dreams they are-tall, dark, and luscious. As Mexico prepares for Christmas, David lights Hanukkah candles, celebrating the return of the sun and wishing for true love. On the first night of Hanukkah, David meets a tall, dark stranger who rocks his world in a secluded moonlit cove. Is this the mystery man of his dreams-the answer to David’s prayers or just another illusion? To find out, he’ll need to gamble everything, even the dream of true love. This is a revised, author’s edition of the first Tarnished Souls story, originally published in 2012 by Loose Id.