The trilogy begins with The Wind Singer, which introduces the protagonists Kestrel and her beloved empath brother, Bowman.
They live in a city called Aramanth, where personal freedoms don't exist and success depends solely on performance in universal compulsory examinations.
This sets in motion a chain of events that eventually results in Kestrel, Bowman and a neglected boy called Mumpo escaping from the city and going on a quest to save their people from an evil entity known as the Morah, which controls a numberless army of malevolent and deadly beings called the Zars.
This new meekness attracts the attention of the powerful Mastery, a realm built entirely by slave labour and ruled by the merciless Master.
In the course of the book Bowman finds his psychic powers growing, and discovers that he has a greater part to play in the destiny of his people than he originally knew.
Contending with harsh weather, starvation and various other dangers of the wilderness, the band struggle to survive, whilst Ira grows weaker the closer they get.
Bowman and Kestrel leave their family in order to train as Singer people and they finally understand their part to play in what is to come.
Kestrel sacrifices herself, along with the Singer people, in a final battle against the Morah, causing the “wind on fire” to sweep the world and purge it of the evil entity.
At the age of 10, Kestrel, along with her brother Bowman and her friend Mumpo, return the voice of the wind singer to their hometown of Aramanth in order to release the evil Morah's hold on the city.
Five years later, when Aramanth is burned by the Mastery, Kestrel is separated from her people, but is reunited with them through the marriage of the Johdila Sirharasi of Gang to Marius Semeon Ortiz, adoptive son of the Master.
Bowman assists Kestrel and Mumpo in the retrieval of the wind singer's voice, is taken as a slave to the Mastery and later helps the Manth people to find their homeland.
He punishes the Hath family for rebelling against his system of examinations and ratings, but is stripped of power when Aramanth is freed from the Morah.
After the loss of his title, Maslo becomes a humble person, seemingly having lost some of his mental faculties, and hardly an adequate father for Mumpo.
He is the first of the Manth people to be burned to death in the monkey cages of the Mastery, a deed ordered by Marius Semeon Ortiz to deter any further dissent amongst the new slaves.
He works as a librarian, and although intelligent, performs poorly in Aramanth's High Examinations due to his quiet rebellion against the system.
She decides, after Kestrel and Bowman begin their quest and her husband is imprisoned, to actually act as a prophetess, wearing forbidden many-coloured clothing and standing at the foot of the wind singer to preach to the people.
Sirharasi (Sisi): Featuring only in books 2 and 3, she is a beautiful but spoiled and childish princess, who has an arranged marriage to Ortiz, heir of the Master.
After being disfigured by Zohan for refusing to marry him she changes and matures greatly, shedding her royal status and joining the Manth people on their voyage.
He leads the army that destroys Aramanth, hoping to gain favour with the Master by bringing back a record number of slaves.
Rufy Blesh: An intelligent, determined strong boy who used to be in the same class at school as Kestrel, Bowman and Mumpo.
The control is illustrated by the rules such as having everyone wear colours to define their place in society, which promotes a sense of having to conform to the group.
Also, control via strength of mind features frequently, and is a skill which at the end of the book " Firesong" enables the Manth people to fly to their homeland.
The Hath family's patchwork quilt of many colours shows that they are important, as they are the only ones who seem not to be affected by the monotony that subdues the rest of the city.