DESPERATION... With their numbers dwindling due to Exhaustion, the Magister Prime has sent most of his remaining Magisters to take up residence in the outlying towns. The Magisters must maintain control of the country in the face of the growing science rebellion and the angry, displaced nobles who previously ruled the towns. LONGING... In Greenmerrow, Rayyan is a servant in the house of her noble father. She longs to be acknowledged as a member of the family by her stepmother. But when her simple-minded, half-sister Ophelie catches the eye of Magister Tuvoner, the new ruler of Greenmerrow, Rayyan is pulled into a deadly game of politics where she must protect her sister. But Rayyan's also hiding a secret that she doesn't know the Magistery would kill to obtain. DETERMINATION... Tesher is a reluctant spy in Magister Tuvoner's household, working to uncover the plans of the Magistery and thwart them. When he discovers the secret Rayyan has guarded her entire life, he finds a treasure that he can't let the Magistery control.