High up in the Smoky Black Mountains, Amansun and his family live among the great colony of dragons who call the steep and jagged mountain range home. Though Amansun is the eldest of his dragon clutch, he often feels like an outcast, and he spends most of his time venturing to the Great Forest up North, where he finds peace and solitude. His life is one dreary day after another—until one day when he sets into motion something that impacts the entire colony, putting him and his family at odds with the rest of the dragons.

The elders of the colony decide to send Amansun on a perilous quest to remedy his mistake, but there is little hope he will succeed. Along the way, he encounters elves, dwarves, stone trolls, and centaurs, all of whom choose to either help or hinder in his quest; he travels farther than he thought possible, across the Barren Plains, past the Old Great Forest, and to a mysterious and dark final destination; and he faces questions about his morals and his place in the world.