Sophie Marshall struggles with being the only female undergraduate at Merlin College. When her husband, Gray, receives an invitation to lecture at the University in Din Edin, Sophie is overjoyed to join him. However, he goes missing. Can Sophie and her friends rescue him before the kingdom as they know it is threatened?
Sophie and Gray return to London, escorting the heiress of Alba to meet the British prince to whom she is betrothed. Sparks fail to fly between the pair and the marriage alliance is cast into further doubt when the men who tried to poison King Henry are discovered to have escaped from prison.
At Oxford’s Merlin College, the elite sons of Britain learn the intricacies of magickal theory. Gray Marshall, a gifted student, faces a life-altering crisis after a midnight errand with fellow students ends in disaster and death, leading to his disgrace and the loss of his powers. Sent to work at the estate of his strict professor, Appius Callender, Gray hopes to recover his abilities over the summer. There, he meets Sophie Callender, the professor’s daughter, who, despite lacking magickal talent, yearns to learn about it. Isolated by her father and forbidden from pursuing her interests, Sophie has secretly studied ancient texts on magick. Gray, with his stammering charm, encourages her curiosity, igniting new ideas and feelings between them. Their connection sets off a chain of events that reveals hidden truths about their lives. When the king's advisor visits the professor, Gray and Sophie suspect that the incident in Oxford may be more sinister than they realized. Together, they are determined to uncover the truth, regardless of the potential consequences.