Befriending the shopkeeper at a Japanese antiques store, Yuki Snow discovers an ancient brass mirror rumored to be a portal to a celebrated Japanese writer's world, and when a woman appears in the glass, beckoning her, she decides to step through into theunknown.
Thirteen-year old Barclay and his fellow Lore Keeper apprentices are excited to travel to the Desert to study at the respected University of Al Faradh, but when dangerous, unnatural sandstorms and a magical library appear, more than their exams are at stake.