The realm of Verdiana and the Kingdom of Vesuvia went to war over perfume with the mages on both sides of the border unleashing powerful magic. The results are a wasteland where nothing grows and magic is unable to be used. The refugees were imprisoned in wasteland camps and used as slave labor to build a barrier between the two kingdoms. The religious order of the Fedeli use the tactics of the Inquisition to make sure everyone observes the religion they practice and the Circle of Mages uses magic as a battle tool.

At the conservatory where Eliana practices the violin, the Fideli came in and killed a student for practicing the outlawed religion of the Redentori. When the Circle comes to kidnap her friend Mira who escaped from them, Eliana walked out of the Conservatory and looked for her family. She ended up in one of the camps for exiles. The conditions were so poor and terrible she became part of the resistance and freed the camp. She became acknowledged as the leader of the newly formed band now known as the Lupi. The Lupi, under the direction of Eliana, liberate the other camps and soon have a large and fearsome army. When they leave the wastelands the mages attack them leading to large number of the Lupi dead. They retreat back to the wastelands while Eliana transforms herself into a boy named Danieel, who is a violinist in the enclosed part of the capital city of Cuore.

While there, she tries to learn anything that can help her army defeat the Fedeli and the Circle. She comes across a secret meeting of a group of Redentori. At a masked festival, she meets one of the Redentori and is shocked to discover he is the Emperor Travan. She is able to spirit him away to safety but the Fideli catch her. She refuses to break under their torture. Her old friend Mira rescues her and makes sure that she gets to safety. She travels to a known Redentori place and with the help of other musical Redentori is able to destroy the mages who were following her by using own power. After the battle is won, Eliana travels to where Emperor Travan has his government in exile waiting for her return. Eliana and her fellow Redentori plan to cut the supply line that bring food to the Imperial Enclave, forcing the entrenched Fedeli and Circle mage to fight them. Using battle tactics she has used over the last year, Eliana and her troops have a chance of winning but she must guard against betrayal from those she goes into battle with.

Eliana is a warrior in the tradition of Boadacia. Her troops are loyal to her because she wouldn’t have them do anything she wouldn’t do first. She is a symbol of the resurgent Redentori religion and the resistance fighter who despises what mages have done to their land. The people also want the Fedeli overthrown because they will not let any religion but their own be practiced. Eliana is a young woman who had to grow up fast and though she leads her army, she is never sure if she is steering the right course. Her doubts endear herself to an audience who roots for her to defeat her enemies.