The four young mages, Tris, Sandy, Daja, and Briar, are just starting to settle into their new home at Winding Circle Temple. But even as they struggle to cope with the powerful magic that binds them together, Winding Circle comes under attack by pirates armed with fierce new weapons.

On a journey to Gold Ridge, the four young mages-in-training, Daja, Sandry, Tris, and Briar, find their special magics overlapping, sometimes in frightening and destructive ways. One burst of this combined magic leads Daja to create an astonishing vine made of living metal.

Briar Moss and his fellow mages-in-training Sandry, Tris, and Daja, have faced earthquakes, pirates, and fire. But their greatest challenge is still ahead. It comes in the unexpected form of a disease, a devastating plague that is ravaging the citizens of Emelan.

Sandrilene fa Toren has moved to the palace of her uncle, Duke Vedris, to care for him after his recent heart attack. While the two are out riding Sandry sees a boy named Pasco dance a magic spell. To her dismay she soon learns that since she discovered Pasco, she must handle his magical education until a proper teacher can be found. At 14, Sandry feels she is too young for this. Even worse, 12-year-old Pasco refuses to believe he even has magic. But Sandry has greater worries than Pasco....

For years, the Empress of Namorn has pressed her young cousin, Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, to visit her vast lands within the Empire's borders. Sandry has avoided the invitation for as long as it was possible. Now, Sandry has agreed to pay that overdue visit. Sandry's uncle promises guards to accompany her. But they're hardly a group of warriors! They're her old friends from Winding Circle: Daja, Tris, and Briar. Sandry hardly knows them now. They've grown up and grown apart.