The story of a 2nd generation Russian-American girl who moves from a big northwestern city to a small southeastern town. With only her eccentric, sometimes embarrassing architect parents and her fat cat Anatoli, Elena escapes the monotony of home and befriends two strange sisters who run the cafe and bookshop downtown. It is there that one day she picks up an unmarked book, full of old spells written in the language of her ancestors. Previously unfamiliar with the archaic Cyrillic written in the book, she is surprised to find that she understands what is written. Entranced by the strange book, she is hardly without it, missing meals and sleep, she finds herself whispering the words to spells not spoken in centuries, until one day she decides to try one and her world changes forever.
