Gray Marshall has spent his entire life scrambling to get by in the Kingdom of Britain. With no family or money, he depends on his natural talent for magick and the kindness of his teachers to stay at Merlin College in Oxford, although not all of his teachers like him. His academic advisor, Professor Callender, is invested only in gaining power for himself and has no interest in Gray's learning or success. After Professor Callender sends Gray on an errand that results in the death of another student, Gray is blamed and suspended from school. Before Gray can defend himself or tell anyone that he was operating under orders, the professor whisks the boy away to his own home for the summer.
Confined to the house, Gray meets the professor's daughter, Sophie, who convinces him to instruct her in magick--an art not taught to women. In the course of these lessons, the two young magicians discover Professor Callender's plays for power are not confined to academia and have far broader implications, both magickal and political. Gray isn't safe, but his life isn't the only one that hangs in the balance if they fail to get away from the professor.
What begins as a fantastical story of loss and betrayal becomes one of intrigue, politics and espionage. Debut novelist Sylvia Izzo Hunter renders both the setting and characters in vivid detail. The structured system of magick gives the fictional world weight, and Hunter manipulates the seemingly disparate plot elements to create tension that culminates in a satisfying conclusion. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company