Calendula Isadora (Callie to her friends) is a powerful witch with a mind for science...magical science. Her independent ways, not to mention her unseemly affection for her human boyfriend, put her at odds with her San Francisco coven. The last straw comes when she builds and animates a massive golem. Really, such things are simply not done among respectable witchkind. Then a sexy Old Country warlock arrives on the scene, just to complicate things further, as Callie's best friend, Logandina, falls ill with an inexplicable malady. As Callie delves deeper into the swirl of mysteries surrounding her, the witchkind powers-that-be try to keep her in her place. Naturally, she defies them, with help from her mentor, eight-hundred-year-old Gregorio Andromedus, her mother, a "wild magic" witch with a talent for the tarot, and a few new friends. But when illusion, deception, danger and intrigue are the common currency, how can any witch know who to trust or where to turn? Can Callie rely on anyone besides herself-and her familiar, Elnor?