Under the rule of the terrible Murx, where Mirthlings show false kindness out of duty and live out terrifically absurd pre-ordained callings in permanent joylessness, our ill-fitting heroine Topaz trades her stifling life for the most surreal of portals, orbiglass worlds and fantastic friends, discovering her true origins and inherent powers on her path to attain the silver-peaked mountain where she believes happiness awaits her. There and back again, Topaz battles with herself as she faces the challenges of friendship, deceit and loss, until with a little magic and a lot of heart she comes to love the Mirthlings she once despised, inadvertently emerging as the one destined to return balance to all the worlds.