Alina Starkov is an orphan. She doesn't remember much, if anything at all of her parents. She remembers more of growing up in Duke Keramsov's estate, which he turned into an orphange. Her powers hadn't shown up when she was youmg, so when the Grisha testers came, she stayed in Keramzin. As she grows up, she's fierce and protective of her best friend, Malyen. The two are pretty much glued to each others side. 

When they are old enough, they are enlisted in regiments in Kribirsk. Alina becomes a cartographer due to her practiced drawing skills. She ends up on a journey across the fold, however, the fold trip is halted when Alina's powers awaken, stopping the shadow beasts from attacking them more than they had done already. Alina is led to the Darkling after that and she is revealed for who she is, the Sun Summoner. 

Alina then is whisked away to the Little Palace in Os Alta for safety and training. Along the way, she trains her powers. Baghra, the Darkling's mother, reveals his dangerous truth and Alina leaves. She finds Mal again and togethr the two discover the amplifiers that she had learned about during her travels. With the stag and the sea whip in her grasp, she makes her way back toward the fold. Finding out the first prince of Ravka is using her for a trade, Alina doesn't get away, not quite. The Darkling uses that moment to try to take Alina. Alina fights back and manages to fight his control of her. 

After the escape, she spends two months underground with the Apparat, focusing and preparing for her next move. She's lost some of her strength, but going out in the open again has brought that back once more. She finds Baghra who teaches her how to use the cut, hers made more of light than the Darkling's. After that, she and Mal go to find the firebird, only to end up realizing that the bird in the mountains is not the firebird at all, but Mal himself.  

They return to the fold shortly after that, having been told the Darkling has people held under hostage. They meet up with Nikolai and the rest to form a plan to defeat the Darkling. Alina is convinced to use the knife on Mal to use his firebird abilities to defeat the Darkling. She then takes that very same knife to kill him, her powers stronger than ever. Mal survives the attack, along with Alina, but the Darkling does not. The war is over, she let's the fold disappear and she is cheered by the people who linger outside waiting for news. Alina has not lost her powers and she can move on. They all can.