In the bowels of a city called Reidier, Mella makes a mistake. She loses her temper. To avoid the oncoming shit storm that results from that, she finds shelter- with the secret Incognita revolution. But their leader is missing, and tensions are high. Anything can happen. Meanwhile, far away on the east coast, the Archheir Astall attends another boring high society function. That turns out to be a bad idea. Before the night is over his parents are dead, and a coup d'état brews on the horizon. There is only one thing that might help him win back his innocence and his city- the sacred Mandate, a magical document which names the rightful heir- and that, conveniently, is locked inside a box no one has seen since his father became the Archduke of Yvette. No matter how much the six cities of Derwent wish themselves separate, they are tied together. Consequences stretch past city borders and walls. These two events were set into motion a long time ago- when a simple serving girl made a decision. Now, ancient forces are awakened, and change is coming. A Game of Thrones meets the Infernal Devices. (kind of)