No sooner has Ben returned home on leave from the Guardian Academy when he discovers that Feyren Emperor Kantab’s forces are on the move again and after his parents. To save them, Mizli and Ben thread their way through a maze of lies and captivity by bogus government “agents." When they eventually discover that a human schemer, secretly in league with the Emperor, is behind the kidnapping, Mizli conceives of a brilliant ploy to unmask him. However, the Emperor’s reach is long, and Ben and Mizli find they must deal with Feyr’s almost invincible Imperial Dragoons before they can save Ben's folks. Even if they do, they still must return to Caldae and face the consequences of their disastrous performance on their final examination at the Guardian Academy.