Magic dominates the Empire of Izmer, and only mages, those elite few born with the ability to harness its power, have the right to rule. All others are consigned to a life of lower station. When the emperor is killed by an assassin's poison, his only heir, the child-princess Savina, quickly discovers that the greatest threat the Empire has ever faced will come from within.

The respected Archmage Profion is plotting to turn the Council against her rule. Profion will stop at nothing to secure her Crown and Scepter and the power of the Gold Dragons for himself, and his schemes threaten to plunge the nation into civil war! But little does Savina realise that the fate of the entire realm rests in the hands of those who the Empire has forsaken…