With her mother dead and her father away, fighting his own demons, the Ash Girl lives huddled deep in the protection of the ashes in a big old house with her stepmother and two stepsisters. When an invitation to the Ball, addressed to all the daughters of the house, arrives from Prince Amir, Ashie can't bring herself to believe she can go too. With the help of her friends, not all of whom are in expected places, she finds the strength to go, but loses her shoe when rushing back at the appointed hour. Finally, in the end which is also a beginning, she discovers that in order to regain the fleeting happiness she had found in the arms of the Prince, she must fight the monsters who have slithered and insinuated their way into her heart and mind. She must believe in herself for others to do so.
With her mother dead and her father away, the Ash Girl lives huddled deep in the protection of the ashes with her stepmother and two stepsisters. When an invitation to the Ball, addressed to all the daughters of the house, arrives from Prince Amir, Ashie can't believe that she can go too.