Emeline's quiet village has three important rules: Don't look at the shadows. Don't cross the river. And don't enter the forest. When her little brother breaks all three of the rules she is forced to use her family's forbidden magic to rescue him from the dark things he awakens the Ithin. Now that the Ithin are afoot in the land she must by law travel to the royal court and warn the king. Can Emeline survive in a city where conspiracies swirl like smoke and her magic is all but outlawed? -- adapted from jacket