The War of the Leaves united two kingdoms and left half of another in ruins. Years later, the tenuous peace between humans and elves is shattered when human soldier-turned-farmer Japeth and elven wife Zandrine are killed by mysterious masked men, leaving behind two young sons. On a quest for the truth, Shanadar is sidetracked by nomadic traders with a tortured past, a kindly old sorcerer with the key to his future, and a feisty young woman who longs to spite her meddlesome brother. Meanwhile, Zandar enjoys the secluded life under the tutelage of a half-dwarf hermit, not realizing that the mere survival of him and his brother may have jeopardized all that he holds dear.