Seline Templar hasn't experienced an easy life. First, her father died for reasons that have been shockingly concealed from her. Then Seline's mother, Molly, went missing in suspicious circumstances. So she's been raised as a ward of King Steam in the Steamman Free State, far away from the potential perils of her home in the Jackelian Kingdom.

Raised in relative solitude among the machine race . . . until an old friend of the family, the steamman scientist Coppertracks, turns up in the capital with news of the most amazing discovery. It will set Seline and her companions off on a dangerous adventure to the mysterious and distant Mightadore.

There's only one problem with Seline's destination. Many are those brave souls who have set out to reach the legendary city. But, nobody has ever come back alive from the trip to describe what they found!

7th novel of the Jackelian fantasy series. Each book is a standalone adventure set in the same world with some of the same characters, so you don't need to read it in sequential order (although purists often do).