A gripping fantasy in which books take on a life of their own and can kill
Elisabeth grew up in one of the Austerlitz libraries. Since she was a child, she has walked past grimoires - magical books that whisper on shelves and rattle with iron chains that prevent them from escaping. If someone frees them, they turn into monsters of ink and skin and start doing evil.
Elisabeth hopes that she will soon become a Guardian, whose mission will be to guard and, if necessary, destroy the dangerous books. When one of the most powerful grimoires escapes during an attack on the library, Elisabeth expects to be praised for taking it down. Instead, she is accused of the crime and sent to the capital, accompanied by the wizard Nathaniel Thorne, where she awaits trial.
Elisabeth finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old conspiracy and her prospects are more than bad. Even worse than the fact that Nathaniel is a sorcerer - a representative of evil from whom only the worst can be expected...
