Hidden to most, this glacial world once crackled with alchemy. Now it waits for war--divided and bound by strict rules. So when twelve-year-old Meylyne falls from a tree onto Glendoch's sickly prince, she must flee or face imprisonment in the Shadow-Cellars. The only way she may return home is with a cure for the prince's peculiar disease.

Convinced she will perish, Meylyne and her companions embark on their journey--and before they know it, they are knee-deep in a plot to sink Glendoch into shadow, like other worlds before it. Poisoned guardians, cursed wizards, and cunning witch-spirits bound into wands are just some of the dangers that dot the way of their travels.

And behind it all is the Thorn Queen. Mysteriously magnetic (or murderously vengeful, depending on whose side you're on), she is always one step ahead of them . . .