When the orphanage he called home burns to the ground, 14-year-old Leo and his three friends turn to larceny. But when Leo is cruelly betrayed by his gang, he becomes the apprentice of a has-been magician named Barzini. With help from the great Harry Houdini, Barzini is staging a comeback, complete with an improved variation on the bullet catch trick made famous by his arch enemy, Chung Ling Soo. He wants more than to outshine his old rival; he is out for revenge. As Leo struggles to escape his dangerous past, he fears that his new mentor is even more dangerous. This spellbinding mystery chronicles the coming-of-age of a young man who refashions his destiny amid murder and misadventure in the golden age of magic.