Tyre’s one act of rebellion has always been refusing to fall in love. He prefers to hang on to the superhuman strength and speed that comes with being a cursed beast. He’s the governor of his small mountain town of Thiaghal, a dutiful son, and a good friend but he wonders if there’s more to the world than a quiet life with his family.

When people enchanted by fairy magic, like Tyre, start falling prey to a mysterious force called ‘The Inimical’ who is killing them to siphon their magic, Tyre’s family is panicked and starts pressuring him to find someone to break the curse. Enter Calla, a beautiful stranger who appears in the woods behind his family estate just as it seems The Inimical may be closing in. She’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, she always smells vaguely of roses, and she glows like the sun itself. Tyre finds himself falling in love despite himself. His family is thrilled that if he can just get Calla to love him in return all their problems with The Inimical will be solved.

But when Tyre’s 15-year-old cousin Maddie gets involved in a situation she can’t control and is kidnapped to a mysterious and magical school an entire country away, The Inimical is suddenly the least of their problems. Tyre needs to rely on Calla’s intricate knowledge of her own time at the school to plan a rescue. While they work side by side, some of the things about beautiful Calla that once seemed so dazzling, suddenly start to feel sinister. As The Inimical haunts his dreams with strange demands, and Maddie’s life hangs in the balance, Tyre's love for Calla grows but so does the nagging suspicion that she’s just a little too good to be true.