Four tales of men who refuse to be molded... Swordwick is the story of a prince who dares to wield both blade and wick—until he must pretend to be something else for the sake of his sister. Odd Wick tells the tale of a wick of extraordinary genius who wants nothing more than the ordinary Captain serving as his escort. Songwick is the tale of a wick of incredibly rare ability, desperate to escape a miserable past and find a bright future... Flamewick relates the story of a man as fierce as the flames he controls, until that which he holds most dear is stolen from him, and one man alone is not enough to get it back.

To save the life of the crown prince, Starwick took a curse upon himself, but the curse leaves him in excruciating pain alleviated only by Tyrwick, the king's bastard son and a man who has always despised Starwick. If he wants to live they must find the man who cast the curse and take back the ring he stole, but Starwick's real challenge is not hunting a man—it is fighting his own despair, reinforced by Tyrwick's cold disregard and his own shadowy life.

Massy has spent his whole life under pressure: as the son of the notorious Creawick, nephew of the famous Tokiwick, and as a nigh-legendary dualwick, able to use both water and earth wick. Such power and lineage should make for an easy life, but instead Massy finds himself rejected as often as not. Back home after studying abroad, he is lonelier than ever, miserable in the wake of yet another lover cheating on him. Watching from afar as his two old friends move on without him, plenty famous and powerful in their own right. Then he learns that an old friend from his days abroad has gone missing, and it's up to him and his old friend to figure out what's happened and bring her back safely. As if that's not enough, he learns his entire circle of family and friends has been keeping an important secret from him…