Far from home after escaping slavery in Skandia, Will and Evanlyn's plans to return are spoiled when Evanlyn is taken captive. Will employs his ranger training to locate his friend, but soon finds himself fatally outnumbered - until Halt and Horace make a daring, last-minute rescue. But their reunion is cut short by the discovery that Skandia's borders have been breached by the Temujai army - and Araluen is next in their sights. Only an unlikely union...

Skandian outcasts Hal, Stig, and others do battle at sea against the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race across icy waters where not everyone thinks of the competition as playing.

"For years, the Kingdom of Araluen has prospered, with the evil lord Morgarath safely behind the impassable mountains. For years, its people have felt secure. But the scheming hand of the dark lord has not been idle. . . On a special mission for the rangers, Will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, travel to a neighboring village and discover the unsettling truth: all the villagers have either been slain or captured. Could it be that Morgarath...