As the daughter of Valoari's richest and most influential luminary, Caya Filar fears nothing—except being ordinary. The only thing her parents can't give her is a luminary's power, and with it, an escape from a world of black, white, and gray. But with her seventeenth birthday fast approaching, Caya still hasn't seen the colors of magic, and fears she never will.

All Caya wants to do is make her father proud. But on the night of the Luminarium ball, a coup against the throne leaves the luminaries dead, their magic outlawed, and Caya's world changed forever. Now mercenaries roam the streets with deadly weapons—crossbows rigged to shoot balls of acid—blinding suspected luminaries to cut them off from their magic. No one is safe, least of all Caya.

So when Remi Trin, a boy Caya has long admired, offers her shelter, kindness, and love, Caya wants to trust him. But Remi is friends with the new king, the same man who arrested Caya's mother, seduced her sister, and ordered her beloved father's death—the man who destroyed Caya's family and broke her heart in two. Caya has sworn vengeance against the king. And as she loses her broken heart to Remi, she gains something that might just help her get what she desires.