Daine receives a summons from some old friends — the wolf pack from her old village, led by Brokefang and his mate Frostfur, who are unhappy with the nobles ruining the Long Lake, their territory.

Numair agrees to help the wolves, but he decides to first visit the nobles of the Fief at a party in Castle Dunlath to further investigate, after they find the burnt remains of the Ninth Rider Group.

Daine stays to sort out the mess with her friend Brokefang, and Numair tells her not to do anything extreme or he will lock her in the deepest darkest dungeon he can find when he gets his hands on her again.

Throughout the book, Daine reaches the next level in the development of her wild magic as she starts to share minds with animals, a useful ability as she uses the eyes of squirrels and other creatures to spy.

Daine learns that Tristan and his mage friends Alamid and Gissa are going to dump a poison called Blood Rain into the river at the north end of the Long Lake to kill every living thing within ten miles of it.