More than four hundred years after the events of Shakespeare's "The Tempest", the sorcerer Prospero's daughter Miranda has attained everlasting youth through the water of life, a gift she shares with her father and her other siblings. Miranda is the head of her family's business, Prospero Inc., which secretly has used its magic for good around the world for hundreds of years. While at work, Miranda receives a message from her father: 'Beware the Three Shadowed Ones'. When Miranda seeks her father, he is nowhere to be found. Miranda sets out on a quest to find her father, reuniting along the way with her estranged siblings. Each sibling holds a staff with a unique magical power, and each knows secrets about Miranda's sometimes foggy past. As she learns the truth about herself and her family, her quest becomes clearer. Her journey through the past, present, and future will take her to Venice, Chicago, the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., and the North Pole. For help on her quest Miranda brings Mab, an aerie being who presents itself as a tough-as-nails hard-boiled detective, and works for Prospero, Inc.;
Mephistopheles, her mentally unbalanced brother; and her magical flute, an enchanted device capable of casting spells and controlling the aerie spirits. They must ward off the Shadowed Ones and the other ancient demons wishing to harness the staffs' powers. As if the supernatural creatures who pursue them aren't dangerous enough, Miranda's task is complicated by the sudden reappearance of her first true love, Prince Ferdinand, the son of her father's betrayer, who left her standing at the altar after the conclusion of The Tempest.
- ISBN10 0765319292
- ISBN13 9780765319296
- Publish Date 4 August 2009
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 22 June 2011
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Tor Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English