Macati swore off apprentices after his less than pleasant experiences with the first three. He's still feeling the sting of Tlory, his last apprentice gone awry, but then an old friend shows up on his doorstep with a shy, brilliant, and horribly awkward student in tow, and he can't say no.

Guylian seems to fit nowhere. The life he loved is forever gone, he is desperate to avoid a life he hated, and now his teacher in magic is turning him over to someone else, completely out of patience with him. He doubts his plans to become a proper mage, as magic seems to come with more trouble than he can manage. Still, he cannot bear to give up his last ties to the past, even if that means dealing with a teacher who is kind, patient, and too attractive for Guylian's peace of mind and the trouble stirred up by a certain former apprentice...