From the book jacket: Alissa doesn't believe in magic, stories about the Hold, a legendary place where human Keepers learn from enigmatic Masters, until her mother insists that her father's magical abilities are dormant in her and she must go to the Hold-the only place her talents can be trained.
On her way, she crosses paths with Strell, a wandering musician from the plains. And though Alissa is not sure she can trust a plainsman, Strell has something Alissa needs-one of her father's old maps. Traveling together, they can reach the Hold before the snow sets in.
But they don't know that the Hold is nearly empty. The Keeper Bailic has sent the Masters on a fool's errand and systematically killed the other Keepers in his search for the first Truth, a book of magic that will give him ultimate power. And he believes that Alissa and Strell hold the secret of the book's hiding place.