When magic has disappeared from the land, a vicious king reigns from his throne of glass. In a brutal competition to find the greatest assassin in the kingdom, a female assassin named Celaena Sardothien fights not to kill, but to win her freedom. As her competitors start dying, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a desperate quest to uncover the source of the evil before it destroys her world. With a provocative Crown Prince and a loyal Captain of the Guard by her side, she'll need every ounce of skill to survive.