After an earthquake devastates San Francisco in 1906, young geomancer Ingrid Carmichael and her friends Cy, Lee, and Fenris are forced to flee the city. 

Bruised but alive, and haunted by the knowledge that the earthquake was caused by her own father, Ingrid is desperate to escape Ambassador Blum, the cunning and dangerous bureaucrat who wants to use her formidable powers to help the Unified Pacific—the confederation of the United States and Japan—achieve world domination. 

To stop them, Ingrid must learn more about the godlike magic she inherited from her estranged father’s family. But the more she discovers about her powers, the more she understands that the geomantic energy she wields could destroy her just as easily as it destroyed San Francisco. 

And Ingrid is not the only one with sought-after abilities. As the foursome race to find answers in Seattle, they must dodge not only Ambassador Blum, but also the various factions that would use Cy and Lee for their own political gain. And all the while, Mount Rainier looms in the distance, reminding Ingrid that she may prove to be the fuse to light the long-dormant volcano . . . and a war that will sweep the world.