At the outbreak of
World War I, eleven-year-old Elsie Clarke is shipped off to Wales to attend Miss
Coleridge's Academy for Gifted Youths. What at first appears to be an
institution for talented academics soon reveals that 'Gifted' means something
else entirely, and only the mysterious Madam Tryll holds the answers.

Only she can open
the Gateway to The Place Where Lost Children Go - a sentient forest called
Elsewhere with the power to enhance the talents, desires, and fears of unique
souls. And then there's Elsie, the newest Guardian, with the power to open the
Gateways into Elsewhere, borrow Gifts in emergencies, and enhance other Gifts
with her touch so that her Gifted friends can grow stronger. But Elsie's powers
are unpredictable and her new role as mentor comes with a lot of
responsibility.

Meanwhile, the war
rages on, and the headmistress believes the students are the solution. She intends
to push them to their academic limit, training them in the art of war,
stripping them of their childhood. The Gifted must use their newfound talents
to bring down her awful regime and win a battle of their own. But with the war
growing ever closer to home, Elsie can't help but feel like Elsewhere has been
recruiting them too, training them for something bigger than just school.