Content Warning: This section discusses death, including that of family members.

Sixteen-year-old Elisabeth Scrivener is an apprentice at the Great Library of Summershall. As an infant, she was found on the library’s steps by the Director, and she was raised there ever since. The Great Library’s vault holds powerful grimoires that could turn into monsters called Malefict if not contained properly. One day, the Director asks Elisabeth to help her bring a delivery to the vault. Determined to seize the opportunity and prove that she deserves to become one of the wardens who stand guard over dangerous spell books, Elisabeth aids the Director using iron and salt to bind the grimoire, which is called The Book of Eyes, contains spells for mind control, and is covered in “[e]yes of every color, bloodstained and rolling” taken from human sacrifices (8). The book whispers to Elisabeth and tries to take control of her, but the Director intervenes. She tells the girl, “Be certain, before you choose, that the life of a warden is what you truly desire” (10). Although Elisabeth is rattled by her first visit to the vault, the experience only increases her determination to prove herself.