The people of Haven, thick in preparations for war with a much more powerful kingdom, find help where they had expected none. But for each hope discovered, a new threat is exposed. Haven's young leaders fight among themselves until the Elite is disbanded and scattered.

Shadow must find his friends, help them remember what they need to fight for, and weld them into a new unit capable of leading their people into the greatest war Rimdale has ever seen.

He must do it. They must fight. War in Rimdale is inevitable.