The beloved Elemental Masters series moves to America for the first time in a rich retelling of The Queen of the Copper Mountain, set against the backdrop of Tennessee coal country.
Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner, but a sickly constitution has kept her confined to the house for most of her life. Hoping to improve her daughter´s health--and lessen the burden on their family--Anna´s mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny, a witchy-woman and an Elemental Master, in a holler outside of Ducktown.
As she settles into her new life, Anna learns new skills at Aunt Jinny´s side and discovers that she, too, has a gift for Elemental magic that Jinny calls "the Glory". She also receives lessons from a mysterious and bewitching woman named Jolene, who assures her that, with time, Anna could become even more powerful than her aunt.
But with Anna´s increasing power comes increasing notice. Billie McDaran, the foreman of the Ducktown mine, begins to take an interest in Anna and her abilities--even though Anna has already fallen in love with a young man with a talent for stonecarving.
If she wants to preserve the life she has come to love, Anna must use her newfound powers to oppose the foreman and protect those around her.