When Bishop Butler is accepted into a highly prestigious magical trial in Rome, wherein he will assume the title of a god and train in an ancient museum, the last thing he expects is for his cohort of 13 to drop almost immediately to 12, and then 11, and to keep falling at an alarming rate. While the nature of the trial is vicious, setting all of its contenders against one another, it is quickly obvious that these murders are not part of the game. While Bishop is fighting to win, he is also battling for his own life and working with his peers to get to the bottom of the violence -- not to mention, he is having a hard time not falling in love with each member of his dwindling group, all with their own godly powers and unfair beauty. As the thirteen months of the Trial count down, Bishop begins to realise why his sister, and so many others, have lost their lives before to this game. And that he, with the magic of death at his whims, may not even be able to save himself, let alone those that he's come to love.