An epic tale of deception, love, and revenge unfolds as Brienna, a student of the five passions—art, music, wit, dramatics, and knowledge—navigates her complex identity. On the summer solstice of her seventeenth year, she aspires to master her passion, but she knows her place at the passion-house is not due to her talent, unlike her arden-sisters; it is because someone wanted her hidden. Brienna is unaware of her father's identity, but she knows her mother was Valenian, hailing from a land of elegance, while her father is from Maevana, a wild place proud of its magical warrior queens, now ruled by a tyrant. As Brienna begins to experience visions of a long-dead Maevan ancestor who concealed the legendary Stone of Eventide, she realizes that finding the Stone could restore the rightful queen to the throne. With newfound powers, she is drawn into a perilous world of secret alliances, ancient enmities, and deep family secrets. As she grapples with her journey, Brienna must confront the question of what binds her more strongly: the ties of chosen family or those of blood.
