Raised by an underground rebel group after the murder of her parents, seventeen-year-old Alka goes undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in an attempt to recruit for the rebellion and win the Great Game which would give her access to the seat of her enemies power.

As a child, Alka witnessed her parents' brutal murder at the hands of Wizards, Taken in by an underground rebel group, Alka is deep undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda. To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat, kill, and use every trick in her spy's toolkit. And she will have to make friends in order to recruit the misfits and the outcasts into her motley rebellion. Can Alka destroy the twisted game-- without becoming a part of it? -- adapted from jacket

Ages 14 & up.,Little, Brown and Company.