There is no lower rank than cabin boy on the warship Invincible. But Dantar knows he is important, because anyone who threatens his life gets turned into a pile of ashes. His older sister Velza is a shapecasting warrior, in a world where only men fight. Until now. Together they must solve the mystery of broken magic and escape the dragon.

There is no lower rank than cabin boy on the warship Invincible. But Dantar knows he is important, because anyone who threatens his life gets turned into a pile of ashes. The Invincible has been attacked, and all seems lost. Dantar’s only escape from his enemies is through the foul-smelling sewers of Savaria. Velza’s plans to save him are soon thwarted by three enormous dragons threatening to set fire to the city.

The warlock Calbaras wants to revive the ancient, forbidden magic of dragons, and his son Dantar is vital to his plans. Dantar is on the run in an enemy kingdom, unaware that he is so important. Worse, his sister Velza is now working for the enemy king.

It's hard to save the world when you are in jail. Dantar and Velza, children of the warlock Calbaras, need to escape from jails six hundred miles apart to stop their father unleashing a catastrophically dangerous spell. Both will soon learn that they are not just special, they are also very dangerous.

The Dracondian dragons—once powerful and dangerous—now lie helpless on the mountaintop as a human army closes in to kill them. Only the warlock's children, Dantar and Velza, can save them. But will their own dragonly powers be enough? And what of the evil Calbaras? Can he achieve his aim to become the greatest warlock of them all?