Violet has always known that her sister, Arina, is different. Not only does she have strangely elongated ears, close-to-translucent skin, and an abnormally skinny, long body-but animals are drawn to her; grass turns green under her feet. And then there are those even stranger, subtler abilities . . .

It has been seventeen years since the elven monarchy was overthrown by a more democratic, technologically advanced human race. The elves have always referred to the humans as "Ordinaries," but Violet has never minded the derogatory name. She is content being an Ordinary, growing up outside the city. And she loves her sister despite the fact that they don't share the same blood. When humans dressed in black suits arrive in a shiny car outside their home, asking questions about an exiled elven princess, it is decided that Violet and her family will return to Galanthus-the city of Arina's birth-to seek protection from Arina's own kind.

Zac, the president's son, grew up in Galanthus and has watched it crumble around him under his father's leadership. When Zac befriends mysterious newcomers Violet and Arina, he finds himself swept up in an underground world of secrecy and betrayal and the dangerous, possibly redemptive implications of an ancient Elven prophecy.

As Violet, Arina, and Zac spend more time together in the dying city, it becomes increasingly clear that Arina is more than the heir to the elves-and Violet herself may not just be an Ordinary.