The world of Avern has moved on. It has been almost a thousand years since the day the entire pantheon disappeared. Since the Abandonment, the mortals have learned to live without gods and goddesses. The world became mundane with little magic, and even less hope. Tyrants have risen, and those able to wield what is left of magic are powerful. Forces surge in the darkness that threaten to topple the already fragile world. The plight of the world of Avern is not unknown, however, and those that watch from a distance have decided to intervene. The mortals are sleeping, however, unknowing that two great powers will soon by vying for control.Then something happens that changes things. A young princess makes a bid for power by murdering her father. She then attempts to murder her sister, the crown princess of Lineria, Keiara. Despite a true strike, aided by dark powers, Keiara doesn’t die. Instead, the strike pierces the barrier between her human soul and the soul sleeping within her, the soul of the Dark Phoenix. More than a goddess, the Dark Phoenix is the legendary mother of the gods. She is a part of the Eternal Phoenix that brought life to their world eons ago, one of the primal forces of the cosmos.

Twenty-six year old Jacoline Holcombe believes herself quite firmly on the shelf. Faced with an unfulfilling silent life, she abandons all propriety, dresses in men's clothing, and goes fencing with her brother. There, due to terrible luck and even worse planning, "Jack" is introduced to - and tries to curtsy to - the reserved and unapproachable Duke of Aspen.

Aspen is scarred over most of his face and body. He is accustomed to fending off the advances of fortune hunters and their mothers and has never known a woman to want anything more from him. Self-conscious and cynical, he dislikes social occasions and avoids the company of women. Faced with an awkward and oddly effeminate young man, however, he goes out of his way to be kind.

Believing her a gentleman, Aspen shows Jacoline a man's life in Regency-era London and trusts her with his secrets. But as much as Jacoline comes to respect and love the Duke of Aspen, she is living a lie and the truth would ruin her. She does not know that her actions also risk exposing her brother's secret: an illegal male lover and a family hidden from the world. After Aspen discovers Jacoline's lies and the house of cards begins to fall, Jacoline must beg the man she secretly loves to save her brother...