A year has passed since Aibek and Faruz helped the villagers of Nivaka defeat Helak's army, but now a new threat is looming. A mysterious disease is killing the sacred Shadow Trees, and threatening to take the treetop village Nivaka with them. To locate the ancient beings ruling over the forest and find a cure, Aibek and Faruz are forced to split up, but they are both dangerously unaware of the horrors that lurk in the forest's depths. Eager to prove his prowess after a year spent in the forest, Aibek plunges into the depths of the Tsari - and straight into some uncomfortable situations. Faruz, still healing from the battle the year before, leads an expedition north, but unseen dangers lurk behind every tree, and Faruz must adapt quickly if he's to survive the secrets of the swamp. Any misstep by either could be fatal, not just for them but all villagers of Nivaka and the forest itself.