Princess Julianna may be cursed to dwell in darkness, but she’s no damsel in distress. The King of the Land of Fritillary has incurred the wrath of his ex-bestie, the evil wizard Farland Phelps.

Farland curses the King's firstborn to die if touched by sunlight, and just like that, Julianna must spend her life in the depths of a castle dungeon (emptied of prisoners and redecorated in the latest fashion, of course). Warren Kensington is a member of a seafaring theater troupe.

When the pirate ship he's sailing on is damaged in stormy seas, he goes ashore and bumps into Julianna on the streets of the capitol. The pair accidentally uncover Farland's plans to take over the throne.

Julianna and Warren are the only ones who can save the kingdom. But the farther they travel, the more Julianna wonders whether her dad's throne is worth saving.

From an evil and greedy wizard? Well, sure. But from the people of Fritillary who are trying to spark a revolution? The people suffering in poverty, malnutrition, and other forms of medieval-esque peasant hardship? It doesn't take Julianna long to find that the real world is far more complicated than a black-and-white fairytale.

. .