Jim Hubbert

In this first volume, the reader meets teenage Sophie, who expects to spend the rest of her life quietly making hats in the back room of her family's shop. Because the country is preparing for war, the city is full of bored soldiers, and Sophie runs into some and gets into trouble - only to be saved by a handsome stranger. Her encounter causes the infamous Witch of the Waste to become angry and jealous with Sophie, who now faces more danger without...