In 1815 England, Eleanor Kingsley studies the effects of Ars Magica under her uncle, despite its unsuitability for a young lady of the gentry. At the dawn of the Romantics, Ars Magica--the power of poetry to create illusions and incite emotions--promises to eclipse all past eras, and Eleanor wishes to be at the forefront of its study.

But when Eleanor's best friend Meg, a talented Reader able to unlock the magic of the Poets, receives terrible news from Lord Wellington's force on the Continent, Eleanor faces the powerful effects of a force unconquerable by scholarship:

Grief.