Welcome to Fountains Parish – a cesspit of trade and crime, where ambition curls up to die and desperation grows on its cobbled streets like mould on week-old bread. Coppelia is a street thief and a trickster with a small talent for magic. She also has something other thieves don’t . . . tiny puppet-like companions: some made of wood, some of metal. They don’t entirely trust her, and she doesn’t entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works. But can it survive a far bigger challenge than picking a pocket or two? A local crime lord has noted Coppelia’s success and compels her to assist in a high-stakes heist: breaking into a mage’s palace to plunder its treasures. She knows this illicit adventure could either break her or make all their fortunes. But a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core – and Coppelia and her friends are forced to face a threat to the great city itself.