Magic is real. Allison Merriweather is an investigative journalist and expert magician, working for the news site Sniphunt, and she is being punished. Why else would she be assigned to cover the North American Biannual Short Story Writing Competition? It may be the biggest sporting event of the year, but it's not her beat. With nothing to investigate, it's all color commentary and jockeying to interview famous authors. Her fellow reporters are glaring daggers at her over the assignment. It must be punishment. Then things start to happen, famous authors start losing hard, and Allison starts to wonder if her editor is psychic. And precognition isn't even a thing.