Violet Beckett, an eighteen-year-old girl from the small village of Athea, is faced with a life-changing decision after her older sister, Rose, is set to be banished from within the walls protecting the Kingdom of Illea. With their father dead and their mother on the run, it is up to Violet to save her sister from what is guaranteed to be a looming death sentence. Violet's life is fully turned upset down, and when she feels she has lost everyone she's ever loved, an unexpected ally, the secret Prince of Illea, barrels into her life and seems to sweep her off her feet.