Elande loses her parents when her village is destroyed by fire. Rescued by a strange dragon lying next to her amidst the flames, this young girl is eerily the only survivor. Despite the devastation, neither the girl nor the dragon have any memory of its cause. Fearful things are happening in the world. Things that threaten to destroy peace. Once, long ago, humans had stumbled upon a dark secret. A secret that had cost many battles and many lives and was then lost to the mists of time. Or so the dragons believed. Now that secret may have returned."