"You will find that without the charm and poise to move through higher circles, changing the world will be quite difficult. And that is what the Head School of the Cinderbloom Academy expects you to do."So begins Cressida Quillionette's instruction-her first hint of what is to come. Cinderbloom is secretive. The students are forbidden from discussing classes with one another. The clockmaker's daughter is almost relieved to find she is to be transformed into a genteel young sorcerer.She wasn't expecting to be physically transformed. When the enigmatic Headmaster pulls her aside for specialized instruction, she is submitted to an experimental ritual that changes her indelibly.Cressida has told herself until now that Cinderbloom's strict rules and secrecy were all necessary, even ignoring the warning signs as she is increasingly cut off from her friends and sweetheart. Now she finds herself questioning: what exactly is the change the Headmaster wishes his students to effect on the world? Is losing her humanity worth it?And when the chance comes to fight back with her fellow students, will she take it?