Cath struggles to survive on her own in her first year of college while avoiding a surly roommate, bonding with a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words, and worrying about her fragile father.

Cath's love for the Simon Snow series of wizardry novels has gotten her through a lot, but now she faces a challenge even Simon never confronted--freshman year of college. The plot contains profanity and underage drinking.