The inhabitants of the fourth planet of one of the last solar systems found before leaving this galaxy know their world as Refuge. They know only that a race referred to as the Old Ones brought their ancestors to it, and still, at the rate of twenty or thirty per year, continue to do so.From childhood, all are able to mentally call for small items such as food and it will come to their hand. Some have more power and are able to change the nature of things. They refer to their ability as magic.For the last ten years, groups of people have been wakening to discover that they have lost their powers.World President Merlin recruits an eighteen-year-old girl to investigate. Why does he think she may succeed where he has failed? She is the only witch to have a unicorn as a familiar!