Max's life takes an unexpected turn the day his best friend Sam makes him an accomplice to her theft of a handful of figs. He is forced to run as a pack of angry merchants cry for his head. Shaken, Max ducks into the first open door he finds. It is a decision that will alter his future and change everything he thought he knew about the world. Rose the Apothecary is the wisest woman in the village. Loved for her healing powers, she has made a living from helping others. But she has a darker, more mysterious side. Some whisper she is a witch. Right now, she is the only thing keeping the mob from catching Max. Max soon discovers that Rose is a practitioner of Red Magic, an outlawed art that is all but forgotten these days. The unexpected arrival of the King's Guard forces him to act. Max and Rose must decide whether to continue helping the villagers or flee for their lives. It is not an easy choice, but then again, no one ever promised doing the right thing was easy. Based on a plot by Matthew Courtney and written by Mike Gagnon, this epic tale is beautifully illustrated by the creative genius of Onofrio Orlando, Chiara Madonia, Danilo Sbacchi, Fabiola Nocera and Danny Ingrassia.