Tucked within an idyllic corner of New England, Newlyn University stands as a bastion for the academic elites. Inside its hallowed halls, students can pursue degrees in medicine, history, technology .

. . or the Arcane Arts - the esoteric study of powerful magical forces.

Enter Ellsbeth Storer: long determined to pursue a graduate degree in arcane mechanicals at Newlyn. Headstrong and driven, she convinces Thaddeus Rawlins, one of the field's most celebrated professors, to take her on as a student. Against his better judgment, but invigorated by Ellsbeth's ambition, Rawlins allows her to pursue a thesis on writ magic, the long-forbidden power to control and compel others.

While student and teacher both profess academic interest in the topic, each wants it for their own secret purpose. And they soon discover that Newlyn itself may be hiding the darkest secret of all . .

. As Rawlins and Ellsbeth undertake their clandestine research, their flirtation crosses into uncontrollable desire, which threatens to bloom into something even more troubling: love. But when their project begins to spin out of control, entangling them in a destructive web of lust and power, the question remains: can two people who are masters of manipulation ever trust each other?