Now the king's other primary heirs have died, but a child of Barden's could still inherit the throne. One faction sends out an expedition to discover what became of the colony. What they find is Firekeeper, a strange, feral young woman just the age of Barden's daughter Blysse. Hanging from a thong around her neck are some flint stones for striking fire, and Prince Barden's own knife.

Firekeeper only vaguely remembers a time when she didn't live with her "family", a pack of "royal wolves" -- bigger, stronger, and smarter than normal wolves. Now her pack leaders are sending her back to live among the humans, as they promised her mother years ago. And so she departs. With her goes her best friend, the wolf called Blind Seer, who's along for the adventure. In the months to come, learning to behave like a human will turn out to be more complicated than she'd ever imagined.