Gifted Emily Sledge has just graduated at the top of her class from the secretive and dangerous Harkness Academy.There's just one problem: she doesn't have a job lined up. Never one to give up, Emily ditches a promising interview to chase a mysterious message in a bottle. But instead of landing her the perfect job, the clue leads her to a forgotten castle where a band of young romantics prepare to make their final stand against an unknown enemy from beyond the Veil. Isolated and in danger, Emily must choose between her career and the strangers who need her help. But all is not as it seems in the Castle Forlorn, and Emily has to grow up fast if she wants to survive threats that she can't just hit with a hammer... all while the clock ticks down to the final invasion.