A supernatural explosion of violet-colored light nearly destroys a corrupt city called Five Tower. In the aftermath, a child with unusual green eyes is found in the glassy black crater that is left behind. "She is not human," warns a member of the city guard. "She cannot be." But the Black Temple doctor John Ivan refuses to believe in paranormal forces, and he saves the girl who later becomes his daughter. Duty, desperation, and dread become destructive forces in John's life as the world erupts into chaos about him and his family. He continues to deny the paranormal threat his daughter faces even as the evidence mounts before him. He fights losing his family to war, illness, shadow creatures only the Violet Cursed can see, and the deadly, world-ending schemes of Five Tower. With infiltrators in every organization and cursed magic gone awry, John is in a fight he cannot win. A thief named Lukas jeopardizes any possibility of peace. John's brother is involved in a treacherous lie, and John's daughter Nymeria is somehow tied to the terrifying "Violet Curse." Worse, their allies may be enemies. What will it cost him to keep his family safe? Will they all survive?