For 500 years, the Porters have concealed the existence of magic from
the world. Now, old enemies have revealed the Porters' secrets, and an
even greater threat lurks in the shadows. The would-be queen Meridiana,
banished for a thousand years, has returned in the body of a girl named
Jeneta Aboderin. She seeks an artifact created by Pope Sylvester II, a
bronze prison that would grant her the power to command an army of the
dead. Michigan librarian Isaac Vainio is powerless to stop her, having
been stripped of his power and his place among the Porters by Johannes
Gutenberg himself. But Isaac is determined to regain his magic and to
rescue his former student Jeneta. With no magic of his own, Isaac must
delve into the darker side of black-market magic, where he will confront
beings better left undisturbed, including the sorcerer Juan Ponce de
Leon. With his loyal fire-spider Smudge, dryad warrior Lena Greenwood,
and psychiatrist Nidhi Shah, Isaac races to unravel a mystery more than
a thousand years old as competing magical powers battle to shape the
future of the world. He will be hunted by enemies and former allies
alike, and it will take all his knowledge and resourcefulness to survive
as magical war threatens to spread across the globe. Isaac's choices
will determine the fate of his friends, the Porters, the students of Bi
Sheng, and the world. Only one thing is certain: even if he finds a way
to restore his magic, he can't save them all...
