"Her husband murdered, Monarch Janvian evades assassins to protect herself and her unborn child. She carries the blood heir, her only hope to unite the five clans and prevent open warfare. Nowhere within Lorcha is safe, not even with her own kin. She is forced to flee beyond its borders, across the lightning-ravaged Wilde. There she hopes to discover the mysterious Mirage Clan of her grandfather's stories, a people who may not even exist. But any sanctuary she might find is temporary. She leaves the country in the care of the Baerryns, a society of mystics with their own secret plans for the future of Lorcha. They agree to rule the country in her place with a chilling condition. Janvian must return in one year to reclaim the throne or lose it forever for herself and the rightful heir. While Janvian seeks refuse, it is up to her rigid uncle and free-spirited sister to hide her absence and to keep the clans loyal to the child meant to be their next monarch. Surprising enemies and unlikely allies surface in the effort to prevent Lorcha from deteriorating into civil war"--