Ever since her father's mysterious death six years ago on Serpent Hill, Lilia Stepanovna has struggled to help her family make ends meet. So when an old woman claiming to be her great aunt arrives and offers to show her the way to hidden treasure, Lilia leaps at the opportunity. Curious magic soon entwines her, though, and Lilia finds herself trapped by a sorcerer's devious plot to seize the Russian empire. She longs to share the truth with her friend Dmitri Petrovich-the son of the famous stonecarvers who last defeated evil under Serpent Hill-but her enchantment prevents her from saving herself, or even speaking of the powers that bind her.
Dmitri always expected to follow in his parents' footsteps as a stonecarver, until a terrible accident crushed both his hands and his dreams. At least his family and Lilia-the friend he's coming to see is so much more-still have faith in his abilities. But something isn't right with Lilia, and there are disturbing clues that the sinister Malachite Queen who once imprisoned his father may yet be alive and working with Polov, the Serpent King.
When Lilia is swept off to Petersburg under suspicious circumstances, Dmitri embarks on a perilous journey to save the girl he loves and to stop the dark powers that are working through her to take over all of Russia.
