Quote by Holly Black

The book is set in an alternate contemporary America where a small percentage of the population are born with magical abilities known as curse working. These powers operate through skin-to-skin contact and include varieties such as luck, physical transformation, emotion, dream, death, and memory working. The practice of curse working is illegal, which has driven practitioners into organized crime networks. The story explores themes of identity, trust, and the ethics of power through its protagonist's involvement with a crime family and the broader underground economy of curse workers. The narrative examines how prohibition has shaped this society, creating a black market for curse work services and fostering corruption among both criminals and law enforcement. Family dynamics play a central role, particularly the complicated relationships between siblings and the weight of inherited obligations. The protagonist must make difficult choices about allegiance and personal integrity while operating in a world where deception is commonplace and the distinction between victim and perpetrator is frequently blurred. The book belongs to a series that develops this magical system and its social implications across multiple volumes. more