Lyria is a peaceful volcanic island nation off the coast of East Africa. Peaceful, that is, until a power-hungry general stages a military coup and takes over, quelling all opposition. Robyn's father, the Fencing Master, is wounded and imprisoned. Bruce's father is also disempowered, his younger son taken as hostage. Robyn is an expert knife-thrower, Bruce is a champion fencer who wields a sword. Their friend Dirk is a marksman with a pistol, another friend an archer.

Together they form a resistance movement of Young Outlaws. And working from their hideout in a dormant crater, they recruit more young people with combat skills. They plan to liberate their parents and the other political prisoners.

But a bunch of kids against a modern army? The odds against them are huge. The Young Outlaws must find a way to harness the enemy's power to use against him....