Nothing could have been more unexpected - or exciting - than the letter that arrives in the mail informing Tria Tesserel that she has been accepted at the prestigious Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted.Tria has known since she was a child that she had special gifts. Now she will be able to master her craft among peers as powerful as she.But Tria is crestfallen to discover the school is... well... a <i>bit</i> less grand than advertised.The shock of her dismal, tumbledown surroundings, however, is nothing compared to the surprise that awaits her: her roommate, Lina Mueller. An insufferable snob and haughty dilettante, Lina violates Simonton's rules by casually flaunting her power whenever she pleases-and toward whomever displeases her. Unluckily for Tria, that includes her. When Lina eggs Tria into retaliating, it begins a sorcery civil war that lands both young women in front of the furious headmistress.But real trouble looms when Oryon-a classmate of formidable power but bent to dark purpose-decides to ally himself with evil forces. Conspiring with witches known as Dire Women, Oryon causes two classmates to disappear . . . imprisoned in a terrifying world beyond the reach of anyone but Tria.Has she the power to subdue Oryon and the Dire Women? If she fails, her classmates will die.Tria will have to make a journey unlike any she has ever undertaken. A journey alone into the heart of Evil.