In the City of Kinetics, people are seen as cogs in a machine, logic reigns supreme, and fantastical inventions emerge from the depths of the surrounding mountains. Malachi, a sheltered denizen of this highly efficient world, yearns for nothing more than to spend his days reading contracts and exploring the underground world of mines.
But when his business-focused parents send him to the City of Elementals in their place, Malachi is thrust into a realm of unfamiliar customs and aristocratic elites. Desperate to return home, he can't fathom another night of discussing dinner menus or Elemental pastimes until a fateful night changes everything.
When a homeless boy seeks to ease Malachi of his coins, the gears of his world grind to a halt. Suddenly, Malachi's ordered life is upended, and he embarks on a mission to save a life, discovering a hidden side of Thaumoria that challenges everything he thought he knew.