Elvan, eldest of House Galmoth, is content to stay in and always eager to jump into character. Someday, he will find a facade that suits him, one that meets his mother's expectations of him. He's spent the last two years playing investigator, raking through ledgers to clear his mother's name while ignoring his family business and noble House crumbling around him. When the last servant quits, Elvan is forced back into the world and must choose between continuing his fruitless investigation and saving his home from the collectors.

On his last lead, he meets Drace, a lonely shopkeeper who sweeps him away on a flight from the royal inquisitors, who is the same man that arrested Elvan's mother.

They dive deep into the kingdom of Spheris, shrouded by the smog of rising industry, lit by the flicker of gas lamps. Here, the magic users must practice their art in secret, away from the eyes of the crown.

After discovering their intertwined pasts, Elvan and Drace forge forward, uncovering the plot that led to his mother's exile, but who can they go to when the guilty ones are at the highest level of power?

Can they dodge the inquisitors and questionable motivations of Elvan's sister, the Duchess, long enough to bring the crown to justice? Or will they fall to the same fate as Elvan's mother?

Elvan will have to prepare for his greatest role yet: Himself.