Del Buckley has spent nearly two years trying to pass the Rogue Guild’s training dungeon, failing ninety-seven times despite being perfectly capable of picking pockets, bluffing guards, slipping locks, and surviving most of the trouble she gets herself into. Her teacher, Widow Ghast, insists that Del’s real problem is that she never plans ahead, but Del is convinced that a good rogue should be able to improvise. When she overhears word of Maldy’s Fulcrum, a legendary crowbar that can open a door without leaving any sign of entry, she decides that recovering it will prove she is ready for the guild. Her search leads her into a real dungeon alongside Snaggi, a cautious lizard scout; Milnwint, a fallen angel hoping to break back into heaven; and Finlaes Phinn, a disgraced master thief with his own interest in the prize. By the time they reach the Fulcrum, Del is no longer simply trying to survive the dungeon. She is trying to work out which of her companions is conning whom, which crowbar is actually the real one, and whether Widow Ghast might have been right about planning after all.
