With her heritage shrouded in mystery and a future seemingly destined for obscurity, a young orphan is raised in her grandmother's roadside inn. And though she loves her work tending tables, Myria yearns for more. She learns any magic she can from traveling mages, though this only serves to kindle her desire to break free from her mundane life.

When a chance visit to the inn provides an opportunity to learn the magic of the noble elite, Myria's life changes. But to join the nobility and learn their mystical secrets, she must win the prince's heart by the end of the summer and become the future Queen of Avalion.

Five noble ladies contend for the same prize over a season of ritualized competitions and formal events, and Myria is thrust into a world of glittering ballrooms, excessive wealth, and charming aristocrats.

But as she learns that the gleaming palaces of Avalion conceal nests of vipers, she must decide if joining them is a cost worth paying to unravel the mysteries of their magic. And the more she learns, the more she realizes there is a shadow hanging over the kingdom that cannot be dispelled merely by a Flame in the Palace.