A fairytale fantasy novel. After Clementine Aurelius' parents vanish--forcing her to live with her abusive Aunt Dahlia--a handkerchief given to her in the aftermath of that trauma isn't just a nostalgic memento of the past, but a clue to an otherworldly conspiracy and a looming war. To learn the truth about her parents, the resilient thirteen-year-old must journey into Mundialis, a land where possessing color is a privilege, and with the aid of the cursed Fox Prince, a talking beagle, and magical gecko, she must overcome her emotional solitude and defeat a neglect-born malevolence that infinitely whispers, "There is the you and the I, the known and the Other, and nothing else beside that."