The Beatrice Clayborne family hopes their daughter will soon find a husband who will save the family from poverty. But Beatrice herself dreams of becoming a powerful sorceress and fears that marriage will bind her and strip her of her magical abilities. She finds a mysterious book of spells of the highest magic— but it is stolen from her. To get the book back, Beatrice summons a spirit, who helps her gain a body and go to a ball, where she meets an attractive young man. Now she must choose: become the first sorceress in a world of male magicians, or find happiness in marriage with a man who loves her exactly as she is.