The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide: Bardugo, Leigh. The Familiar. Flatiron Books, 2024. Hardcover. First U.S. Edition.

The novel begins with an omniscient narrator who follows the stories of Valentina and Luzia equally. As a woman in a loveless marriage, Valentina’s bitterness causes her to micromanage her servants for any sense of control. However, this leads to her accidental discovery of Luzia’s magic, and Valentina hatches a plan to use Luzia to increase her own family’s fortune. At the same time, Luzia longs for a better life, but knows that her Jewish heritage and the magic of her family will condemn her if she is ever caught. Still, she performs for Valentina’s guests, but panics when she realizes that one of them might have been an Inquisition spy.

However, Luzia’s aunt Hualit intervenes when Luzia tries to run and reaches out to her own patron, Víctor. After Luzia shows her magical prowess, Víctor decides to present her as a contestant held by Antonio Pérez, the king’s former secretary who is desperate to get back into his favor. So, he convinces Valentina and Marius that he will act as Luzia’s patron to hone her miracles, and promises freedom to his family’s long lived servant, Santángel, if he teaches Luzia. Santángel is hesitant at first, but her fiery personality and potential convinces him to give her a chance. At the same time, Hualit - in the role of a widow named Catalina- teaches Luzia etiquette and prepares her for the politics she will face.

After Luzia accidentally kills a man who was hurting Santángel, she becomes more determined to learn her magic and win the competition. On the first day, she meets the three other contestants: Teoda, Gracia, and Donadei. Gracia tries to humiliate Luzia by performing her best glass repairing trick first, but Luzia outsmarts her by using the broken glass to create Antonio’s star sign over his head. However, Santángel is furious, as she only could have learned that if she had read his letters, which were written in Latin, despite claiming that she could not read.

As the torneo continues, they are called in front of three important members of the Inquisition who warn that they will know if any of the competitor’s magic is from the devil. As they participate in the second trial- performing miracles to protect a marionette of Jesus during a play- a shadowy demon creature attacks. Luzia saves Gracia and, with Santángel’s help, defeats the shadows by removing all the light they were using to grow. Gracia drops out of the competition as Luzia and Santángel grow closer. However, after Teoda is arrested for heresy and accused of attacking the other competitors, Luzia and Donadei are left to face each other in the third trial. Hualit gives Luzia an opportunity to escape Madrid with her, but Luzia refuses, determined to win.

However, when Donadei betrays Luzia during the final trial, it is revealed that Antonio used them as a distraction to escape the king’s men. Luzia and Valentina are arrested, with Luzia being tortured into confessing to heresy within Toledo. Meanwhile, Valentina loses all respect for Marius when he abandons Luzia to save himself and Valentina, even though she begged him to help. He accuses her of bringing this misfortune upon their house, and she admits that she was a coward for ever thinking she could please a coward like himself and focuses all of her efforts on helping Luzia survive.

Unfortunately, Valentina’s efforts are in vain when Luzia is found guilty and condemned to burn on a pyre. Santángel tries to take her place, but she refuses to become Vίctor’s servant and both are condemned to death. However, Luzia is able to use her magic to drain the energy from the gem that Donadei has been using to fuel his own power and allow both her and Santángel to escape without a trace. As Donadei and Vίctor’s lives fall apart, Valentina turns her home into a shelter for women while Luzia and Santángel travel the world, using her magic to live forever.