The Greene family has old magic. On the day of her birth Tamsin Greene is prophesied to be the most powerful of them all, but her magic has never showed up. To avoid being the magical outsider in her family, Tamsin spends most of her time at a boarding school in Manhattan. During the summer she helps out in the family Bookstore/Magic Store and it is there, one summer night, a professor from New York mistakes Tamsin for her Talented sister Rowena and enlists her help.
At first the quest seems conventional: Tamsin searches for the professor's heirloom. She enlists her friend Gabriel whose Talent is finding things and time travel, but events soon begin to cause problems for the Greene Family.
Rowena seems to have succumbed to a magic no one can name and the Greene family matriarch has been bespelled, supposedly by Rowena. Their less-than sterling past is brought to the forefront and Tamsin learns more about what brought her family into its prominent place among local society.
Along the way small events seem to reveal more about Tamsin than she was aware. The search for the professor's heirloom appears to be something much more sinister than Tamsin first thought, and when it unleashes a power more dangerous than she expected the Greene Family stands together to solve their troubles.
Stereotypes abound throughout the story, though some are shifted from normal expectations. Rowena is perfect in nearly every way, Gabriel is a goody-two-shoes, and Tamsin is the misunderstood younger sister. Yet, most of the characters step outside their allotted roles to become more complete personifications. Once a Witch is followed by Always a Witch, both aimed at high school readers.
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