The Gates between the Worlds are weakening, Ancient Enemies are rising and Anya doesn't want to know about it ... Anya is grieving after the vicious murder of her grandfather when Tuoni, God of the Underworld, interrupts her breakfast to tell her that for centuries her family has protected the gates to Skazki, the Russian Otherworld. Enemies of her family are gathering, seeking to control the Gates and harness the magic hidden in her blood. If Anya doesn't sober up and awaken the dormant magic inside her she will be dead (or worse) within the year, the power of the gates seized by ancient enemies seeking to unleash the horrors of the Otherworld into modern day Russia. Drawn unwillingly into a deadly battle, the only person Anya can trust is the mysterious Yvan, a Skazki Prince who is forced to share his body with a powerful firebird. Anya is hunted by the prince's dark magic using brother, who has a secret agenda of his own. Forced to flee to Skazki for safety they meet a host of friendly and hostile forces, and Anya tries to piece together the secret history of her family. Drawn unwilling into a battle with only her unstable power as a weapon, Anya must rely on her new allies to guide her but how can she identify friend from foe when most of them aren't even human? Steeped in Finnish and Russian mythology comes a dark urban fantasy about the power of magic and the forces on both sides that seek to control it.