Seventeen-year-old Brinleigh Saphron is an apothecary's assistant living in poverty as her war-torn country slowly struggles to rebuild itself. When a startlingly familiar stranger stumbles into her life asking a favor Brinleigh wants to decline-that is until she realizes that helping the stranger gives her a chance to protect a childhood friend from a potentially deadly fate. Thrust into a world of courtiers she finds herself saddled with responsibilities far above her abilities. Brinleigh fears she's made the worst decision of her life. Will she risk it all-including her friend's life and retreat back into obscurity? Or will she rise to the challenge presented to her? And what if she's caught? Will she be found guilty of treason?