Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, slavery, homicide, gun violence, and police brutality.

Nichole Blake turns 12 on a sticky May morning in Jackson, Mississippi. Her father, Calvin, casts an illusion on their backyard, transforming it into a forest. A horned, fire-breathing hellhound the size of a tiger appears and charges towards Nic. Calvin dispels the illusion, revealing that the creature is actually a cuddly hellhound puppy. Nic hoped that her father would get her a dragon for her birthday, but she is still thrilled with the puppy. Suddenly, Nic’s best friend peeks over the fence. Joshula Paul “JP” Williams is the only other Black child on her street. The boy reminds Nic that they are going to a book signing that night for TJ Retro, the author of a series about a young magician named Stevie James.

Calvin homeschools Nic, and he’s promised to teach her how to use the Gift after she turned 12. The Gift is an innate power that Manifestors like Nic’s father possess. On the other hand, magic is “a corrupt form of the Gift” (6) that is destructive and can only be cast with a wand.