Sixteen-year-old Kellan DuCuivre is the descendant of traitors and like all Du orphaned after the war, Kellan is forbidden by law from practicing makecraft, the trade of carving magic into metal. No one can know that Kellan has been using makecraft in secret and that, in the wake of a tragic miscarve, she's been helping her adopted father Edgar run his celebrated makeshop.

Kellan is thrust into the Guild's twisted web of political intrigue and ancient secrets when she strikes a dangerous deal with one of its members to save Edgar and his shop. Now, Kellan must compete in a rigorous gauntlet against the nation's elite for a coveted spot as a maker's apprentice.

Amidst a crumbling city and a ticking clock, winning the gauntlet won't just be a test of survival-it will mean pulling back the veil of secrets behind the Guild and uncovering the shrouded legacies of Nanseau itself.

But danger lurks at every corner.