Sixteen-year-old Max (never call her Maxime) is nicknamed Tinderstick for a reason. Not only is she extremely short-tempered, but she also sets stuff on fire just by touching them when she’s angry—and she’s angry a lot. Especially after being transferred to a new school following an incident in which she was found unconscious beside the burned out home of a friend in her village.
Furious about the transfer, she vows to keep a low profile, finish school with as little drama as possible, and move on with her life. However, she soon discovers that her new school is one of the last outposts of a centuries-old Guild—its origins tracing back to ancient Egypt—dedicated to protecting Egalpezzo, The Balance of the World. Or, more accurately, the balance between good and evil in the world.
Over the centuries, this Guild has taken extreme—sometimes horrific—measures to achieve its goal, with devastating historical consequences: initiating the witch hunts, orchestrating the assassination of J.F. Kennedy, and even committing the infanticide in Bethlehem—all because, to them, too much good poses as great a threat to The Balance as too much evil.
When Max learns she is prophesied to be the destroyer of that Balance—and, by extension, the world itself—her life spirals into a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, unexpected friendships, unimaginable stakes, reluctant heroism, emerging powers, confrontations with past versions of herself, and inexplicable journeys to a parallel reality called Mondo Krepusko.
And —maybe most confusing of all—why do some keep calling her Alice?