Tonino Montana just can't do it.
The whole Montana family is highly skilled at magical workings, but Tonino is just a slow learner. In a time when the whole city is suffering for skill in magic and threatened by attack on three fronts, a boy who can't remember a spell is more than likely to become depressed.
When things go seriously wrong, every Montana is sure that the other magically talented people in Caprona, the Petrocchi family, are to blame. This comes as no shock, as the two families have been feuding for centuries. This feud comes most interestingly to a head somewhere midway through the book...
It's going to take a lot to save Caprona, and the Angel required for the job is not coming yet...