When the Striga, a mysterious owl from the Middle Kingdom, takes over young King Coryn's mind and institutes a tyrannical new regime, the Band, exiled for their loyalty to Coryn, seek to free him and the kingdom from this threat.

Ever since Soren was kidnapped and taken to the St. Aegolius School for Orphaned Owls, he has longed to see his sister, Eglantine, again. Now Eglantine is back in Soren's life, but she's been through an ordeal too terrible for words. And Ezylryb, Soren's mentor, has disappeared. Deep within Soren's gizzard, something more powerful than knowledge tells him there's a connection between these mysterious events. In order to rescue Ezylryb, Soren embarks...