Simeon Runciman’s is firework maker to the royal court of Ostermark, a difficult man with a dangerous past. His son, Casimir, has always known part of the truth about him. But when Simeon’s enemy, the sinister magician, Circastes, reappears in their lives intent of revenge, Casimir is caught up in a deadly web of murder, deceit and magic. Forced to fight for his own survival, Casimir must also confront the harsh truth of who his father is, and what he as done, as well as the real nature of the magic that he wields.