Chaos comes to Myrridia's immediate neighbors when the King of Esterlyn passes away after a long illness and the 2-year-old King of Wyckendom is murdered in his cradle, on the same day. The heir to Esterlyn, 12-year-old Frederich DiStephane, is abducted as his uncle prepares to usurp the throne, while an unexpected heir to Wyckendom, Katharine Severinson, appears at that royal castle.