Dare to dream. Live to defy. I can't remember the last time I dared to dream about anything-not about my future, never about love, and certainly not about the sorcery the ancestors left behind. All that's about to change. Kith has spent each of her seventeen years being coddled by the wisps and semi-wisps of her world. Born physically fragile, her family, elders and neighbors have never allowed her the independent life she craves. It's no wonder she looks forward to her brush with sorcery each morning. When she passes through an ancient gate to a neighboring world, the animal-like shadows are there to welcome her-and the shadows aren't the coddling type. Bound by treaty to feed and educate her, the magical shadows have become beloved teachers for Kith-until one of them makes a shocking decision. Kith must succeed at a new type of education: she must learn to run faster than a shadow or risk going hungry. With the weight of an inter-world treaty on her shoulders--and encouragement from a young man with courtship on his mind-Kith sets out on a journey to become stronger, smarter and more independent, all within the bounds of her dying world and the body she was born with. Because as the last of her ancestors' protective sorcery gives way, it's no longer enough for Kith to defy the odds. It's time to live to defy.