While others seek the Crimson Orb, teenage Nissa searches for her mysteriously missing magic teacher, Madoc, and discovers how little she knows about her world and herself. Nissa has always been determined to learn all the boys are taught at Holm Manor where she grew up, and her journey allows her to learn those skills. Along the way, she kills a sea monster and then cooks it in a ship's galley, she befriends a prince and princess, she faces an ice bear on the Frozen Tundra of Sorn, and she eats fortune cupcakes and Meecham cookies. But with help from Madoc's brother and sister, can she rescue him? And can they prevent his abductors from finding the Orb and using it to destroy the world?