Because only he can read the magical map, young, weak, and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back.
When an ancient evil threatens to devastate Rin, overcoming its people with a fatal sleeping sickness, young Rowan, with help from a tribe called the Travelers, must decipher a rhyming riddle in order to save the land and its inhabitants.
Destiny leads Rowan of Rin to make choices which could save a powerful crystal, thereby ensuring the safety of his people and his people's shore-dwelling allies.
After a flying lizard carries off his little sister, Rowan of Rin and three companions are guided by a rhyming riddle on a journey to the land of their old enemy, the Zebak, in order to rescue her.
When a bitter winter threatens starvation to the people of Rin who set out for the coast, Rowan and several others stay behind for various reasons and are led to a startling discovery about their people's past.