Simon Hand is an accomplished performance magician. He can do all the card tricks, hat tricks, box tricks, and escapes necessary to stun his audience at every show. But when a mysterious woman shows up backstage after one of Simon's shows and asks for his help, Simon finds himself face to face with people who believe in magic in a very different--and far more deadly--way. He is soon caught up in a kidnapping case and a hundred-year-old feud between two magical cults, both desperate and willing to kill for an artifact that each believes Simon already has in his possession. With very few allies and plenty of enemies, Simon must find a way to diffuse the conflict before it ends with his own early demise.