Published in English in 1997, the story takes place in the magical world that later became the world of The Merlin Plot and features the same characters, making it a prequel to The Merlin Plot. Worldwide Magids work to maintain the balance of magic, using their gifts to make the right people do the right things at the right time. On Earth, the Magids are making efforts to return the world to its rightful place - to magic. Rupert Venables had only been a junior Magid for two years when his sponsor died and he had to find a replacement. The trouble is that the most talented of the five Magids, Marie Mallory, wants nothing to do with Rupert Venables. And while the younger Magid is trying to track down four others, the lines of fate dangerously entangle more than one world of magic, and magical principles are being lost from their hands...