This companion volume to The Goose Girl (Bloomsbury, 2003) focuses on the best friend of that novel's heroine, Princess Isi. Two years have passed, and 16-year-old Enna has returned to the Forest to care for her dying mother. Her older brother finds a mysterious piece of vellum that teaches him to set fires with neither flint nor spark. The warm energy of the fire turns destructive as Leifer becomes controlled by the desire to burn.

When Bayern goes to war, he wins a battle by burning the enemy, but dies as well. Enna discovers the vellum and its power and hopes that her new knowledge will help her protect Isi and all of Bayern, but it puts her and her loved ones in mortal danger. In some gory battle scenes, Enna burns hundreds of people alive, winning the war, but nearly dying herself. Like her ability to fire-speak, Isi's gift of wind-speak is similarly out of control. In hopes of discovering a remedy to their problems, the two young women set off for a kingdom in the south where fire-worshippers live. The answer lies in balance. Not a retelling of a fairy tale, this is an original tale that stands on its own. With a richly detailed setting, eloquent descriptions, a complex plot, a large cast of characters, and romance, this high fantasy will be welcomed both by fans of The Goose Girl and those who have yet to discover it.