For years, Satra rotted in the dungeon depths while her kin were forced to wage wars to keep her safe. Now the eyrie is ash and she controls the largest army the continent has ever seen. As her opinicus enemies plot and scheme, she sets her sights on the Crackling Sea, where the last of her kin are held hostage. The snowy taiga gryphon Younce is one step away from being banished. Sent to investigate the frozen catacombs on the southern coast, he discovers dead gryphons, violent wildlife, and a hidden camp. After an infected gryphon leads him to a city of rafts and sea monsters, he begins to suspect that something more may be going on. Something bigger than just the taiga and coast. Something with terrible implications. While Satra squares off against treacherous taiga gryphons, vicious peafowl opinici, and mad scientists to save her kin before they're executed, Younce uncovers a plot that goes far beyond sick gryphons. Will his warning reach Satra in time, or is it already too late?