This book takes the tale of a land where magic is considered evil. Princess Shiori does have some magic, which she keeps hidden from her family. When she discovers her stepmother is also magical, she races back to tell her family. Desperate to keep her secret, her stepmother casts a spell on her--she has to wear a wooden bowl on her head, and cannot speak (unless she wants to kill one of her brothers). Additionally, her six brothers are turned into cranes. Shiori and her brothers are banished to a distant part of the kingdom, where they eventually take refuge in the land of Shiori's former betrothed. The audio spun out in front of me and I loved it.