Jemma lives in a castle.  It’s not a life of luxury, however.  Her family, the Agromonds, are the rulers of a kingdom ravaged by the Mist, which blocks out all light.  The people of this land have not seen the Sun for generations.  The Agromonds relish this darkness, and love all things disturbing and cruel.  Jemma does not fit in.  She knows she should enjoy the thought of creating a new spell each week, should love the rage and fury of storms, should feel strengthened by the summoning of dark entities, but it’s all opposite.  She never bothers to create her spells, cringes at thunder, and the summoning sickens and weakens her.  Her only solace is in her two golden rats, Noodle and Pie, who are always there when she needs them.When Jemma discovers that she is adopted and the Agromonds are planning a ceremony on her thirteenth birthday to remove Jemma’s powers and take them as their own, she knows she must leave.  Armed with an enigmatic book, a stone which will augment her power, two crystals of unknown purpose, and her rats (whom she discovers to be telepathic), she ventures into the Mist to seek her true parents.  Chased by the Agromonds, she forges deeper through the Mist. While hiding from their forces, she is in search of her true parents and a way to bring light into the Mist-ridden realm.