For Kip, growing up in shadow of the human men-only Prince George's College of Sorcery has been nineteen years of frustration. Magic comes naturally to him, yet he's not allowed to study sorcery because he's a Calatian—one of a magically created race of animal people. But when a mysterious attack leaves the masters desperate for apprentices, they throw their doors open, giving Kip his chance. As he fights to prove his worth to the human sorcerers, he encounters other oddities: a voice that speaks only to him, a book that makes people forget he's there, and one of the masters who will only speak to him through a raven. Greater than any of those mysteries or even whether the College's attacker will return to finish the job is the mystery of how Kip and his friends can prove that this place is where they belong…

Kip Penfold's apprenticeship as the first non-human sorcerer begins with exploring the ruins left by the vicious attack on Prince George's College of Sorcery some months before. This gruesome task results in a clue that takes him to London, but the closer he gets to the identity of the attacker, the closer the mysterious attacker gets to him. As people around him begin suffering and dying, Kip realizes that he's running out of time to solve this mystery. His fire sorcery might be the equal of his enemy, but it also leads the hot-headed fox to rash decisions that could destroy his life before anyone else gets a chance to.

The American Revolution of 1817 has begun, and Kip Penfold's talents as a fire sorcerer make him a valuable weapon. He and his friends are swept into the conflict, taking the side of the rebels because they hope to win a better life in the new country. But an old enemy of Kip's pursues him through the war, taking greater and greater steps to capture his power. It takes all the fox's cunning to stay one step ahead—and then the rebellion betrays the Calatian people. Now Kip must decide which war he wants to win.

Two years after the Revolutionary War, the new College in Peachtree is in trouble. Kip, Emily, Malcolm, and Alice have survived political attacks from Victor Adamson, but their money is running out. The International Exposition of Sorcery is their last chance to find a rich donor, but once they're there, things get much worse. The few students they have are kidnapped, and Kip gets wind of a sinister plot against all Calatians. Within days, the four friends find themselves in a race against time to save their students, their school, and the world as they know it.