Alisha Prince is a daughter of an old Philadelphia family, impatient with the family's devotion to tradition, and approaching her personal day of decision - her 21st birthday. She is unaware of the family's real expectations of her, of the existence of plots against her life, and of ancient powers at the disposal of her "cousins," the guardians of great wealth, great power, and secret knowledge of her own bloodline. Who can she trust? Tyrone, her unreliable lover, who has secrets of his own? Her mother, Lily Prince, who is determined to choose Alicia's path for her? Her grandfather, Sebastian Prince, who after years as CEO of the family is preparing to turn over power and wealth to her? The strangers Wylda Celeste and April who present themselves to her as unwilling blood allies? The shadowy presence in her life of her many and distant "cousins" leads her on a journey to take her place among the hereditary elders of her family as a princess of the royal bloodline, tasked with the protection of her tribe. But it is the human failings - jealousy, greed, and ambition that test her ability to complete this first part of her journey.