A terrible beauty

Sixteen-year-old Gemma grows up in India at the end of the nineteenth century. When her mother dies, she has a terrifying vision that she dares not tell anyone about. After her mother's death, Gemma is sent to Spence, a strict boarding school for wealthy girls in England. But even in England, Gemma is plagued by visions, and it turns out that she has been followed from India by a mysterious boy, Kartik, who gives her mysterious warnings. Thanks to her sharp tongue and intelligence, Gemma manages to win the friendship of the brazen Felicity, the beautiful Pippa and the shy Ann. She discovers an old diary in which people talk about another world. Together with her new friends, Gemma joins the Order, a secret society of women who have power over that other world. But then they summon forces that they can no longer control, and the lives of Gemma and her friends change forever.