The realm of Drinnglennin hangs poised on the cusp of chaos, for Urlion Konigur, the High King, is dying and has yet to name an heir. Rumors abound that the Helgrins, Drinnglennin's bitterest foes, are preparing their longboats to raid the Isle's shores, while the roving å Livåri folk, for whom the island kingdom is the last sanctuary, are mysteriously disappearing. And in distant Belestar, the fabled dragons are stirring from their self-imposed exile.

Urlion Konigur’s increasingly unstable mind heightens the urgency to name his heir. His realm is divided and ripe for invasion, and Aetheor Yarl of Helgrinia, emboldened by conquests in Gral, has set his sights once more on the vulnerable Isle. Master Morgan is among the many who hope the high king will announce his chosen successor at the Twyrn in Drinnkastel, to which Maura and Leif, newly dragonfast, have been summoned. But, Morgan cannot protect his young charges in the capital, for he has vowed to find Urlion’s enchanter and the whereabouts of the missing å Livåri.

In Restaria, the Nelvor’s brutal attack is certain to provoke a swift response from the yarl. Albrenian troops are boldly gathering on their shared border with Gral, a land already overrun with Helgrin colonies along its northern coast. To the south, the Jagar are making deeper forays into Olquarian territory. And on the Isle, although Roth Nelvor is invested as High King to public acclaim, his first appointments strike notes of discord with more than a few lords of the lower realms, and with at least one member of his Tribus.

From all corners of the Known World, Maura, Borne, Halla, Whit, Fynn and Morgan must come together once more to strive against a sea of rising conflicts. The power struggle between Roth Nelvor and the lords of the Lower Realms rages on, while the Helgrins, the Albrenians, and the vaar of the Lost Lands all prepare to seize more power abroad. How the young defenders of the Isle choose to meet these growing hostilities wil determine the destiny of men, elves, and dragons alike. Victory is far from assured, and in the coming wars, not all can hope to survive.