Witches i.e the creatures that use black magic for their goals used to be killed in the past. Black magic was strictly prohibited and using it was considered a sin by the people in the olden days. One by one those people killed every living being that used black magic on the planet. Out of those, there is one who has survived to the present day and her name is Elizabeth Hawksmith. Her mother was hanged by the witch hunters centuries ago and at that point in her life, she went to the Warlock Gideon Masters for help.
Gideon told Elizabeth about things that she didn’t know about herself. Finally, the day came when she became immortal through the knowledge that was present in the Book of Shadows. Old times are now gone and it is the modern England in which Elizabeth is currently living. She has developed a garden of her own in which she cultivates several herbs which she later sells and earns her living. It is a simple life that this great witch has adopted and she has left the ways of witchcraft far behind in life.
Paula Brackston adds another young character here in the shape of Tegan. Tegan happens to be a teenage girl who is interested in Elizabeth’s life. When the two come closer to one another, Elizabeth starts teaching her the old ways of the witches. Marisa Calin provides a special voice to those scenes when Elizabeth finds in her heart affection for Tegan.
A few elements of the past make this novel better than The Little Shop of Found Things: A Novel and The Garden of Promises and Lies. It is the past that teases Elizabeth and also we come to know that being immortal is not a big fun job for the witch.