Hazel Alexander got in trouble because she accidentally lit her twin sister's hair on fire. It was truly an accident but her parents don't believe that. She has always been called a witch for the strange things that happen when she is around. Her twin, the ideal vision of beauty and grace. However, that all changes when Lady Jane Moran arrives at their family's estate to take Hazel away to a school for Cotalia's unrefined High Society girls. Lady Jane also came for Willow. The two sisters travel south toward the capitol where they meet other young ladies with magic and are introduced to a secret society which seeks to change their world. They attend classes about poisons then dance in elegant dresses at balls. But things change rapidly for both Hazel and Willow when they are introduced to Lord Charles Thompson and his cousin, Prince Edmund, heir to the Cotalian throne.