Before the war-torn world of A Dewdrop Away, there existed a different world, a world where magic was more than myth... As far as Tiallin Stormskiln knows, his colony is the only one of its kind left in Arborand. None of the other squirrel races seem to want anything to do with the magic-wielding, aloof white squirrels. To honor his eleventh season, Tiallin is awarded the fortune of working for blind King Sirius, who has grown paranoid due to the mysterious fate of the last white king. When Tiallin's job becomes to investigate the king's suspicions, he finds he knows even less about his own colony than he thought. Can Tiallin trust anyone when everyone, including his own family, seems to harbor their own secrets? Meanwhile, Edelle, a dutiful fox squirrel from a close knit community, embarks on a journey to save her colony from a crippling and puzzling famine, and Lute, a mixed breed misfit and former thief, is on the run from his second home and a crime he insists he didn't commit. What happens when the destinies of three very different squirrels collide and intertwine and they are simultaneously forced to face the truth about themselves and the danger that has been patiently stalking them all from the beginning?