Clara's people-witches-are on the run. The Paladins' centuries-old war against witches and magic has neared an apex, and they're quickly gaining the upper hand. Suddenly armed with "holy relics" of uncertain origin, they're taking down magical Anchors, kidnapped witches, and made life in the Ordinary world generally unsafe for people of magic. Many witches have retreated to Underhill, the ancestral home of the Fae, where witches are building new towns and villages and regretfully leaving the Ordinary behind.

Clara, a few of her friends from school, and her parents and their team of Counter-Hunters, are the only ones still holding onto hope. They've fought the Paladins, tracked down their headquarters and lairs, and have a lead on stashes of so-called "holy relics."

But they're too few, and they may be too late. The Paladins have enlisted the aid of a Blood Witch, an evil, deranged magic-user powered by the pain and suffering of others. They're unwittingly being helped by an Incarnation of Time itself, who is intent on bringing all witches into Underhill-forever. But the witches are caught between a rock and a hard place, as the lack of Creative power in Underhill means staying there forever would also mean condemning themselves to extinction.

In this exciting conclusion to the Clara Thorn trilogy, Clara and her friends must trot the globe, make new alliances, and resurrect old Powers, in their effort o keep witches alive and free. They'll have to decide what it means to win-and whether or not losing is really such a loss after all.