Enthralled by the power of magic, Elisabette studies the ancient books and practices spells despite her father's disapproval. At the same time, she battles her own mind against a descent into madness. When she loses control and kills one of the men assigned to protect her, she is arrested and sent to the Croydon Asylum for the Insane. But Wizard Kristof Farmarch was there when she shot the flames across the market square and he claims her as his apprentice. It is a dream come true. Soon Elisabette finds herself riding away from everything she has ever known on her way to the College of Mages.