Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven, forced to patrol the veil between the realms of Life and Death, keeping it safe and whole. Each night, one thorn witch—and only one—must cross the veil by burning at the stake. Each morning, that witch returns with the help of their magical lifeline. Failure to follow the rules of Death risks them all.

But one morning, Penny’s favorite sister Ella doesn’t return. And that night, determined to find her, Penny breaks the rules. She burns in secret.
What she finds in Death is a manor that shouldn’t exist, home to the devastating Lord Malin, who shouldn’t be there. Malin offers Penny a dangerous deal: Ella’s freedom in exchange for information about the High Warden. 

But all isn’t as it seems in Life or Death. Penny’s bargain leads her to Alice, a mysterious captive prophet… and to a rebellion brewing in the shadows of their city. And as Penny’s world splits between her growing love for the ethereal Alice in Life and her attraction to the seductive Malin, in Death, she’ll face a devastating choice.

Because it’s not just her sister’s life that hangs in the balance. It’s the fate of all magic.