"Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war....Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel--and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles"--P. [4] of cover.

In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

Within the pages of very rare books, some centuries old, lie the secrets of the paranormal. Abby Radwell's unusual psychic talent has made her an expert in such volumes -- and sometimes taken her into dangerous territory. After a deadly incident in the private library of an obsessibve collector, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and rumors swirl that an old alchemical text known as The Key has reappeared on the black market. A number of ruthless people...

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and she saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream....

After the mysterious drowning of his mother Elizabeth Vogelsang, who was writing a controversial biography of Isacc Newton, Cameron Brown recruits his former lover to complete the book. This plunges her to into probing two series of murders, the 17th century murders of several who stood between Newton and his studies and present day targets of those who offend the an animal rights group.

With what should have been the greatest heist of their career gone spectacularly sour, Locke and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. But Locke is slowly succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure. Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmage offers Locke an opportunity that will either save him or finish him off once and for all.