Sophie's husband is killed in the line of duty as a police officer, now she goes undercover to solve his last case as she deals with her gravely ill daughter.

Brakebills University is a secret institution specializing in magic. There, amidst an unorthodox education of spellcasting, a group of twenty-something friends soon discover that a magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real— and poses grave danger to humanity.