"An emotionally robust, intellectually vibrant start to a new YA trilogy." —Kirkus Reviews"Conspiracy stretching back centuries, connected to dark magic and a ruthless group of powerful individuals—she navigates a perilous love triangle, a Gothic mystery, and various revelations. Taylor's premise is solid, setting up all of the ingredients for her Ascendant trilogy" —Publishers WeeklyWhen I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her. I'm sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I'm not the girl I should have been. When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother's childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother-clues to her family's strange past and her mother's disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother's old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts-and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.