When a Second Crown - second in command of her Kingdom - passes on, it's up to the Crown to choose a successor, but ever since Isla's mother's death, her Crown has neglected to choose anyone. It rests in a crypt below ground, still fused to Celeste's remains, awaiting a suitable replacement. Isla has long suspected that the Crown was waiting for her, but a deep sense of foreboding, dread, and the whisper of death on the wind has always stayed her hand. Her Kingdom is thus left entirely undefended when, with her her father away, a neighbouring Kingdom spreads its army across the continent.

Although Isla's brothers have been training for this for their entire lives, without a Crown, they have no hope of unlocking Airlie’s power. Even if they did, Alaric is too ill and Greer too cowardly to make an attempt. Knowing that she’s her Kingdom’s only hope, Isla is determined to do whatever she can to keep the enemy forces at bay, even if it means risking her life to do the unthinkable and attempt to wield Airlie’s Staff - the vessel containing the key to her Kingdom's power - with no Crown and no training.

With guidance from her father’s advisor and the unexpected assistance of the mysterious and enigmatic First Crown of Enora, she just might succeed, but then, why have her instincts always warned her away from the Second Crown? Why does the scent of death follow her wherever she goes? What sickness has plagued Alaric since their mother’s passing? Isla must find the answers she needs while somehow protecting her Kingdom, her brother, her mother’s memory, and herself from sinister forces both within and outside of her home.