Sally is tough. Roz is smart. But thirteen-year-old bootboy Ji is sneaky. And after years of scrubbing at muddy soles and untangling laces, Ji is done with being a servant. He doesn’t want to polish leather, he doesn’t want to bow and scrape. All he wants is freedom-for himself and his friends. So he risks everything for a chance for them to accompany a young nobleman to the Diadem Rite, a magical ritual that chooses the heir to the Summer Crown. Ji doesn’t care about crowns or ceremonies; but he vows that this expedition will grant them all new lives, far away from stables and boots and servitude. But Ji doesn’t know that he and his friends have a crucial part to play in the Diadem Rite. One that will change them forever.