Anne de Vernase rejoices that she has no talent for magic. But she is dismayed to learn the king intends to barter her hand in marriage. Anne recognizes that the summoning carries implications far beyond her bleak future. And a murder in the queen's inner circle convinces Anne that her young sister's magical death wasn't accidental. With no one to trust, Anne must take on her sister's legacy to discover the truth-thrusting herself into a centuries-old struggle that could forever alter the boundaries of magic, nature, and the divine.