Tane Carver can't use magic, and he doesn't trust it. But he understands it better than most, even in a city of elves and dwarves and sprites and mages. So when an impossible murder is committed on the campus of a warded magical university, he's called in to consult.

The only problem is, it's the same university he was kicked out of for lying about his ability to use magic. And the lead investigator is an old flame who isn't so fond of him anymore. And then there's the half-crazy half-orc who insists she's his partner, whether he likes it or not. Oh, and the masked mage who keeps trying to kill him.

So there are a lot of problems, really.

Now, Tane's life depends on the one truth that has never failed him. The flaw in all magic that those who have it like to ignore: the mage.

Outsmart the mage, and you outsmart the spell.

And outsmarting mages is what Tane does best.