Critically injured and seemingly abandoned by her brother after the murder of her family, Cassandra de Rolo finds herself at the mercy of Whitestone's usurpers. Much to her shock, Delilah and Sylas Briarwood treat her with the utmost care - almost like a daughter - as she recovers within the relative safety of her own childhood bedroom. On edge and suspicious of their motives, Cassandra adapts to survive while processing the trauma of her family's demise and Percy's abandonment. The Briarwoods delight in parading Cassandra around the city in an attempt to convince the despairing populace of their benevolence. Instead of becoming their paragon of obedience, Cassandra unwittingly becomes the guiding light of the rebellion attempting to rescue Whitestone: particularly in the eyes of her childhood friend and rebel leader, Archie. Cassandra vows to do whatever she can to help her beloved home, but are the ghosts of her past powerful enough to overcome the ghosts in her present, or will the Briarwoods' brainwashing drown out all reason?