When Silas Heap unseals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself ever-lasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus' disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And, if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then Dark adventure awaits. With heart-stopping action and endless wit, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap.