The third book in this contemporary fantasy series returns to the life of Tessa Andrews as she balances the magical and mundane worldsWhen her father disappeared into limbo years ago Tessas world fell apart It took her discovery of magic for her to begin to put things back together But she hasnt been able to restore her father from his ghostly halfexistenceand he is fading fastMagic has a price and Tessa is learning that it is both steep and deadly The phoenix wizard who could train her has deserted Tessa She has friends among the Iron dwarves and harpies even a lesser demon and the mysterious Malender with his sinister whip of thorns and fire But she is still faced with a delicate balancing actThen her mother incurs the wrath of the magical world when she writes a dissertation exposing its reality That is the final straw as Magic fights back and an assassin accepts a contract on their lives Tessa must learn to master her new powers as a sorceress or everyone and everything she loves is doomed