Darien, content but sometimes oblivious, has lived his entire sixteen summers under the shadows of the Breathwynd Mountains. That is, until the night his village becomes engulfed in flames and his life is irreparably altered forever. Vowing to discover the ones responsible for destroying his village and setting out on a journey through the forbidding and mystical Grove, he encounters a group of mercenaries led by General Lockhart; a man whose soul searching stare alone could make anyone quiver in fear. Learning that the mercenaries are chasing down a group of individuals known as 'Bloodsetters' and that these Bloodsetters are the ones responsible for decimating his home, Darien decides to pin his hopes on the band of rugged mercenaries. And as if his current circumstances weren't enough, Darien finds himself encountering one of the few remaining legendary black dragons of his world and accidentally forms a psychic bond with her infant that creates permanent physical and emotional changes within him that quickly spiral out of control. Wilting under the strain of discovering the motives of those whom altered his life, Darien and his friends desperately try to avoid the chaos that will erupt throughout the country should they fail in their quest to bring the Bloodsetters and the one ultimately pulling their strings to justice. But he should probably figure out this whole 'bonded to a dragon' thing first.