Mages and magicians have been losing rights for years. Recently, however, the government has gone to the extreme. They built a unique, specifically crafted prison that would hold millions of mages in tiny, standing-room-only cells. This prison is called "The Hole" becasue that is what it is, a hole in the ground with a bottom slowly filling up with the dead. Sage Perdit has escaped, only the second one to do so since the Hole was dug, and knows first hand of the tortures that go on in there. She finds an old legend that tells of a way to free the mages, a great Quest to the most powerful mage there ever was and will be, Talisman. She and eleven others go into an unknown realm to battle the tests they must pass in order to get their wish granted, and free their friends.

Rowan Platts is addicted to success. When she's presented with the chance to work on a top secret project fronted by her idol, renowned virologist Dr. Margot Miller, Rowan signs her life away without second thought. The realization she's gotten in over her head comes only after the subject of their study is revealed: a boy with a bad attitude and an uninhibited taste for human blood. He's a medical anomaly. Having the ability to crush metal with his bare hands and hear a heartbeat from across the room, it would make Rowan's career if she was the one to discover what made him so unusual. Easier said than done, with a subject who prefers snapping necks over answering questions.