The novel begins with Rose in her prison cell contemplating her the charges brought against her, and occasionally using the bond to slip into Lissa's mind to view goings-on in Court. During Queen Tatiana’s funeral, statues outside the church suddenly blow up, causing chaos, and making distractions for the guardians. Rose is soon broken out of prison by Mikhail, Eddie, Adrian, Abe, and Dimitri. Dimitri takes Rose out of Court and they drive for hours until they reach Sydney, who is also aiding in the escape. They continue traveling until reaching West Virginia, where Rose discovers she is to be kept in a motel until her friends back at Court can clear her name. However, she insists on leaving and helping herself, but after Dimitri catches her escaping, she convinces him and Sydney to look for Lissa’s half-sibling. For safety, Sydney takes them to the Keepers, a strange group of Moroi, Dhampirs, and humans. Later, they find out the sole person who holds the information needed to find Lissa’s sibling: Sonya Karp, now a Strigoi. The Dashkov brothers invade Rose’s dreams and they later meet up with her at Ms. Karp’s house in Kentucky, where Robert changes her back into a Moroi by stabbing her heart with a spirit-infused stake. After recovering from the shock of being restored, Sonya leads them to Jill Mastrano’s house in Michigan, who is revealed to be the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. Not long after they arrived, Guardians raid the Mastrano house, forcing the characters to scatter and flee again, and creating the opportunity for Victor and Robert to kidnap Jill. Using her spirit abilities, Sonya is able to locate where the brothers are hiding Jill and relays the information to Rose. Upon questioning, Sonya also reveals to Rose that her and Dimitri’s auras shine extraordinarily bright when they are around each other, which shows they are in love. This further confuses Rose about Dimitri's true feelings for her.
Back at Court, Lissa, Christian and Adrian try looking for Tatiana's murderer, and discover unsettling information about the Queen, her lover Ambrose, and Adrian's own mother, Daniella. While at Court, Lissa is in the running for Queen, despite being ineligible without a quorum. The process involves taking a series of tests to prove she is worthy of the throne, and after she passes, there is a huge debate among the Moroi if she can actually be queen.
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Prisionera por asesinar a la reina Tatiana, Rose es rescatada por Dimitri, su verdadero amor. ¿Pero ella podrá demostrar su inocencia y garantizar que su mejor amiga Lissa ascienda al trono real sin tener que hacer el Último Sacrificio?