House of the Wolf. In an empire on the brink of implosion, the Society of the Phoenix is the only alternative to catastrophe, yet it is regarded by the rulers of the Concord as treasonable and a greater threat than the ominous rumblings of a Bond uprising. The Phoenix is led by Alex Ransom, once the first born of the House of DeKoven Woolf, but Commander Ransom now lies in an underground infirmary, critically wounded and comatose after a vital foray into Concord territory.

The art of the magician has been banned in Thrandor for 200 years, and has become a byword for myth and legend, or so a young teenager called Calvyn thinks. Unbeknown to him, a magical talisman has been recovered, and the whole of Thrandor stands blissfully unaware that disaster is poised to strike.

On what should have been a day of celebration - the day marking their transition from boys to men - Varo and Brostek's lives were changed for ever. Their village was destroyed by the Knifemen of Bari, leaving them homeless, orphaned and alone.