Christopher Marlowe, Elizabethan playwright, mage, and spy, is haunted by the ripples of powerful magics used to defeat the Spanish Armada. The world has changed, the stars themselves have shifted, and no one but he seems to notice.

Now he is sent by Queen Elizabeth's secret service to the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, on the trail of English magician John Dee. Rudolf's court is a hotbed of mysticism, art, magic, and intrigue. Marlowe must navigate a labyrinth of politics and religion, hidden identities, and mischevous spirits if he is to protect those he cares about. He veers into a dangerous romance with his guard and jailer - a man he may have to kill.

How far must he go to protect magical secrets too dangerous to reveal, which in the wrong hands could throw Europe into chaos?