Following her parents' bitter divorce as she and her father move from town to town, seventeen-year-old Mclean reinvents herself at each school she attends until she is no longer sure she knows who she is or where she belongs.

While on a school skiing trip, guardian-in-training Rose faces misunderstandings between friends and fights among factions of Moroi as reports of Strigoi attacks raise tensions, leading Rose and those closest to her into a battle that teaches her about life, death, and love. Love gone awry, secret crushes, an upcoming ski trip, and a recent attack by Strigoi have gotten Rose and the Academy on edge, especially when Rose's friends set off to fight...