Yannick Magoza is a young, gypsy orphan that is being raised by a dwarf named Tetu. Each of them possesses an ancient magic that allows them to travel with a successful magician named Topolain. Yann can read minds and see the future, and Tetu is able to control items with his minds. They travel through France, entertaining rich and poor. Things shift for them when they are invited to do a special performance at the chateau of Marquis de Villeduval. It is here that that Tetu and Yann meet two individuals that will change there lives on the cusp of the French Revolution.

The first is the marquis' daughter, Sidonie, who has been living at a nearby nunnery since the death of her mother and uncle (the original marquis) in an accident and her own injury that has left her with a serious limp. A mysterious connection seems to form between Sido and Yann.

The other person is Count Killiovski, a man with a fitting name and a mysterious past of his own. The Count knows Topolain and challenges the magician to perform one of his best known tricks: surviving someone shooting at him. Everyone knows that something is terribly wrong, and things become even more uncomfortable when Yann predicts bloodshed and death for all the nobility in attendance when asked what he sees in the future. Their concerns turn out to be true when Topolain dies during the trick.

Yann and Tetu find themselves on the run, escaping only with the assistance of Sido, who finds herself the romantic target of the count.

From this moment on, chaos reigns as France alls into the darkest days of the Revolution, placing everyone in danger. Yann finds himself in England with an opportunity to improve his education. He rushes back when he hears that Sido has become a captive of the revolutionaries. She believes her only chance to save herself and her father is to wed the evil count, who has strong influence with the revolution's higher-ups.

The writing in this tale is truly beautiful, and the characters are interesting and well-developed. In some ways, this really feels like a junior version of A Tale of Two Cities. I kept expecting Madame DeFarge to keep popping out with her knitting needles from time to time.

I am not sure that young adult readers, the intended audience will be as drawn in as they could be. For one thing, the cover, while beautiful, is going to send most guy readers running even though there is nothing that makes this a particularly girl reader. The other thing that I found frustrating is that all the "action" of the revolution happens off-stage with everyone talking about the grand events that are happening, but there is no real sense of the historic Reign of Terror since the reader experiences none of it directly until the climax.

The real fear throughout most of the work comes in the form of Count Killiovski, who is truly horrible. He has his fingers in everything and he controls people like a puppeteer. In fact, his ties to the situation and the magical abilities of many of the characters seem like an annoying distraction that seems unnecessary with enough horrible things already happening in the rich history that is already to draw upon.