It is 1577 and one month ago Alyce's mother was burnt at the stake as a witch, and Alyce escaped from the witchfinders using her own poorly understood powers, only to be locked up in Bedlam; now another pair has come for her, only they seem different (and a lot easier to escape), and with the help of an innkeeper and a boy, Alyce sets out to find out about her mother's mysterious past--and finds herself in the middle of both a political war between rival queens, and a supernatural war, and not really sure which side she is on.