Timothy Larkin Baines is an orphan being raised by a loving household staff consisting of a cook, a butler, a house manager, and a maid. He is wealthy beyond belief, but his money will do him no good because he is dying. He knows only crippling pain and night fevers. His best friend is a Siamese cat named Preeney. Since his nightly high fevers, he now hears Preeney's thoughts and considers himself crazy.
His daily visits to a nearby pond will soon change his life forever. When a hatchling war dragon from another world befriends him, he thinks it's the luckiest day of his life. His Teska is the fiercest, most beautiful dragon ever, and she chooses him as her rider. What Timothy does not know is that if he dies, so does Teska. She must go to her world and prepare to bring Timothy back with her when he is closest to his end. The flight of death to the Ancient Ritual Chamber, if successful, will take him to Teska's world. It is a world of fantasy and wonder, a world of wizardry and magic, a world of war.