Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family forgenerations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton,caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usualscheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but thechurch has given them dispensation in return for their protection ofthe borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lordshold sway.Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, andwarding off the insistent interest of the church. When hergrandmother dies suddenly, Ellie?s cousin Audra rises to theposition of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As shenavigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see andspeak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets,stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from onerevelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and isforced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens todestroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much tobuild.