Joshua disappeared from Ireland in the middle of the night. Suddenly, he's in At-lan, a hidden city where djinn have lived for six thousand years. Asma, the woman who brought him there, offers him something no witch has been given in generations: training at the Red School. But graduation isn't guaranteed. He must complete a series of trials and compete in the Summer Festival against candidates who've prepared for years. Under Monkey's needle, Joshua receives tattoos drawn from magical traditions across the world, each one a protection, each one binding him deeper to powers he's only beginning to understand. He discovers his grandmother Sylvia was a candidate here decades ago, and he's determined to finish what she couldn't. But At-lan holds more than lessons. Angels move through the city streets, Daniel seeking the Grand Vazir's support for Michael's crusade. Joshua uncovers secrets about his family he never expected. And he finds himself drawn into relationships that blur every line between desire and destruction. Magic demands sacrifice. Identity demands truth. And some transformations leave scars that never heal. In At-lan, Joshua will learn what it means to become something more than human—if he survives long enough to graduate.