Ruby Lark comes from a long line of curious and reckless wizards. Her father, Henry Lark, runs a strict sanctum where students are taught through a brutal curriculum of harsh consequences and cruelty. He seems to have some nebulous purpose for her in mind but his dispassion and formality have kept them apart, master and student instead of parent and child. With no friends, no recourse and no sanctuary, she steeled herself for a life of service to a cause she would probably never understand. Mortimer Dampton started at the Lark Sanctum at the end of his education. A brash, charming wizard, he comes with a wealth of necromantic knowledge. Henry assigns him to partner with Ruby, who instantly takes a dislike to his overly familiar, roguish personality. But he may just hold the key to her salvation, even as he begins to defy the edicts of her father, sending them both on a course to their fates.