Twelve-year-old Shad Hadid has never quite fit in. The other kids at school don't understand him, so he spends most of his time alone, cooking for his teta and daydreaming of opening his own Arabic bakery full of tasty treats. But when Shad is attacked by a shadowy monster, he learns his late baba was an alchemist with the ability to mix charms, elixirs, and mists--and he's one too! Then Shad receives an invitation to the mysterious Alexandria Academy, a fabled school for alchemists, . . . but when he arrives, no one at the school seems to know what alchemy is! As Shad digs deeper into the mystery, he discovers a sinister evil lurking in the shadows, and only he holds the key to stopping--or fulfilling--their plans. With danger at every turn and the fate of the alchemy world on the line, can Shad save his friends and defeat this sinister foe?