A midnight attack to the Academy leaves a wall in rubble and deepens the cracks in the already unstable alliances within the school. But for Basen, there are more important matters than the grabs for political power going on around him. His mother's still rotting away in prison, and his father might kill Basen's cousin for putting her there. On top of that, Basen's recent promise to a powerful psychic allows him only a few days before he must return to Merejic for a task that remains a mystery.

Determined to free his mother and turn his obligation to the psychic into an opportunity, Basen comes to a risky plan in which he'll need the help of those he trusts the most. But little does he know that his friends and family won't be enough to get him out of this alive. He will have to rely on an enemy more powerful than himself.