My story starts like something out of a fairy tale: I hate my stepfather. Maggie lives in Newworld, where two generations ago they neutralized the magic gene. But her new stepfather, Val, comes from Oldworld, where they still rely on magic and he's . . . different. In fact, the only things stranger than Val are the shadows that follow him everywhere. Weird, dizzying, leaping and lurching shadows. Maggie is determined to find out why, and when she meets Casimir, a beautiful boy from Oldworld, She thinks she might be nearing an explanation - until something terrible happens and events spiral beyond their control and all scientific reason. Suddenly it's not so clear who can be trusted. Can Maggie and her friends find a truce between mafic and science before it's too late?