The Circle Opens-the young mages from the Circle of Magic series are growing in power. Daja has travelled with her teacher, Frostpine, to the icebound city of Kugisko in Namorn. Daja is eager to learn more from Kugisko's smiths-but she finds herself teaching instead, as she discovers that her host's twin daughters are both mages, unbeknownst to the girls or their family. Kugisko is a wooden city, desperately vulnerable to fires-so when Daja meets Ben Ladradun, a man heroically committed to fighting fires that devastate his city, she is eager to help him. But is Ben really the hero he seems...?