Beneath a shadowed moon in a cloud-streaked sky, the sacred orb splits and a hatchling is born. It is Nyroc, son of Kludd, fallen leader of the Pure Ones, and his evil mate, Nyra. Born from evil, trained to evil, Nyroc is destined to fulfill his father’s terrible plan: the oppression of all owldom under the vicious talons of the Pure Ones.

But doubt grows in Nyroc’s heart, fed by strange, forbidden legends of a great tree far away where noble owls live in peace. And a light dawns in Nyroc’s gizzard, nourished by friendship. A day is nearing when Nyroc must choose to fulfill his destiny or to defy it. It will be a day of blood and terror.

KATHRYN LASKY has written many books, both fiction and nonfiction. Among her fiction books are The Night Journey, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and Beyond the Burning Time, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. She often collaborates with her husband, photographer Christopher Knight, on her nonfiction books, which have won the Newbery Honor among other awards. They live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.