Shan is rescued by the magus Taropat, who has given Shan a home in his forest hideaway. Taropat teaches the boy both magic and how to forge his loathing of the Magravandian empire into a lethal, honed weapon. The magi of the forest seek to make a hero: bent on revenge, Shan willingly accepts the role.

As Shan learns the tragic truth of what befell Khaster Leckery, erstwhile companion to the dark Dragon Heir, Valraven Palindrake, he discovers that he himself is soon to become an inextricable part of Khaster's story. However, Shan is caught up in a far larger destiny: he is thrown into an uneasy alliance with the sworn enemies of the Dragon Heir, whose collective purpose is to find the lost Crown of Silence.

Shan travels from the legendary land of Mewt to the neglected reaches of the land of Magravandias itself to find the fabled Seven Lakes, but he is in uneasy company, as each present on the mystical quest plots to harness the power of the Crown for their own purposes. And soon he will learn who is the true heir to this icon of power, forged by the dragons of old.

Will the silence the Crown bestows finally quench the roaring flames of the Empire of Fire?