A magician extending his work offstage takes the wrong side in a local turf war and needs all his skills to resist violence, temptation, and unintended consequences - while his enemies fight to steal his secrets. Merlin enjoys his stage shows, and has a nice little sideline in "public magic" - helping people in their everyday lives. Is the magic real? Does it matter? It's not something you could complain about. Then he's caught in the middle of an affair involving politics, corruption, and the fate of thousands of people. But that's not the real danger. A beautiful young woman comes into his life - girlfriend of his dead stepson. She has reasons of her own for wanting his secrets, and Merlin is subjected to all her erotic charm as she tries to learn his powers.