Rhiannan is a 17-year-old Half-Elf who spends most of her days with her beautiful Druid mother, quietly tending to the Sacred Grove and mastering the secrets and spells of the forest. "There are things even in Nature that you must protect yourself against, Rhiannan," her mother often warns, "and there are some things that Nature did not create." Rhiannan learns of predators and natural balances and of the Gil Chren-a shadowy enemy who kills outside of the balance of predator and prey. Rhiannan's world comes crashing down around her one night when her Home-Tree and Sacred Grove are destroyed in a fire set by an ominous black rider...and her mother is nowhere to be found. Alone and terrified, Rhiannan flees through the forest that has always protected her, only to find herself at the mercy of strangers. In the space of two days, she saves the life of a Dwarf Prince, catches the eye of an Elf Lord, and finds a Human half-brother she didn't know she had. They all want to help her find her mother and save her home, but how will she protect them from the Dark that relentlessly pursues her?