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Amethyst is a servant girl who lives on the royal grounds of Riparia, working with her mother while also learning how to read and write. Her advanced studies draw the attention of Professor Chen who is in charge of teaching young Prince Rio—a boy who is losing interest in his studies. Chen brings Amethyst into their studying sessions to motivate Rio. While it works as planned, Amethyst and Rio fall in love, which Rio’s parents forbid. Regardless, they marry and have a daughter, but when the king nullifies their marriage, Amethyst and their daughter Dawn vanish while Rio is being forced to marry a princess. Now Rio is the king and searching desperately for his wife and daughter. Destiny draws Dawn, who has lived in the slums with her mother under the name Aster, to the castle to meet her father and reclaim the life she never knew she had.
With star-crossed love between the haves and the have-nots, this story is perfect for the romantic at heart or those that just love a good fairy tale. The author deftly compares and contrasts the two female leads as Amethyst goes from rags to riches and back to rags, her heart hardened by the experience, while Dawn is reluctant to leave behind the simple life of the slums, even when being promised a storybook life and eventual control of a kingdom. Mother and daughter are further compared when, with reunions and tragedies, Dawn attempts to fill a role she is reluctant to embrace until she too finds love that borders on the forbidden. This book is a brief yet powerful love story that spans two generations and proves that the heart wants what it wants and will overcome obstacles set in front of it to acquire true love.