Princess Theodosia, once a prisoner in her own country and dubbed the Ash Princess, has been set free, and has assembled a rebel army of misfits to liberate her enslaved people. She never counted on facing the new Kaiserin with magic no one has yet understood, and a determination to burn down everything that threatens her rule. To keep the kingdom, the Kaiserin has captured Prinz Soren as hostage, and to make amends Theo must embrace her own power to stand against her.