A cryptanalyst's assistant must turn secret agent when she discovers a magical conspiracy to overthrow the government. Best-laid plans seldom survive contact with the enemy, a truth violently thrown at Mercedes Cartier when a seemingly ordinary trip turns into a battle for survival. Within hours, Mercedes finds herself being hunted by the nine prefects who rule the nation. They have noticed her, and now they're giving her a choice: join them in their sinister plot or disappear forever. Mercedes plays along at first, and then makes plans with her cryptanalyst boss to catch the prefects in their own trap. But before they can even begin, things go horribly, bizarrely wrong. The clock is ticking, and her enemies are powerful, both politically and magically. All that's left is cleverness, determination, and a really, really good bluff.