When Kitt comes to the city of Nurkande, trade on the caravan roads of the Golden Necklace is at a standstill because the Dragon-Lord has risen and loosed the Dragon-Sons to steal, torture and murder. Dragons don't exist - do they? Kitt starts working for the crime-lord Salawar, and eliminates all his competitors. Meanwhile, forty Emerald Princesses give all to protect their king. Salawar double-crosses Kitt, which comes as no surprise; he has his answer ready, and crime-ridden Nurkande sees another massacre. Kitt finds out about the Dragon-Sons and enters the wondrous city of Varakhsha, which is above the desert sands for only one day and one night.

Kitt is a young master-blacksmith from Isenkliff in the grey northern sea, where his father Eckehart taught him the craft, and the warriors who came for the famous Aurora steel taught him to fight. His mother, Aslaug, disapproved of war and trained Kitt to heal wounds, but she never shared her magic with him. After finding out the secret of his birth, Kitt left his home island to wander through Nordheim, fight in the arenas of Daguilaria, study with alchemists in Golden Chrasten and read as many books as he can. Visiting with his fellow Red Lily Knights, he becomes embroiled in the Tolosan Troubles. His only way out is to stow away on a trading ship. This sea journey turns out to be far longer than he thought when a pirate ship appears on the horizon, the Orokun of the Bloody Hand. Slaying a Sea Witch finally brings magic into Kitt's grasp. He must ask himself, what is he prepared to do, what price to pay, for the acquisition of knowledge and powers? In a leaking four-master with purple sails, a ship riddled with conflicting magic, he faces the Kraken, the invisible threat of disease and monster storms and a fractious crew. The search for a safe port leads to the hidden island of Satanazes under the Gold Star where treasures wait, as well as ghosts, Mermen, and an underground forge.

When Kitt finds out the truth about the Dragon-Sons, the spectre of the Dragon-Lord remains. He comes to Binkat, another city of the Golden Necklace, and the descendants of the old dragon Mundarcho Ashdar are prominent there. They search for the Rosary of Varaksha, a string of rose-coloured pearls taken from the heads of Golden Dragons. Kitt searches for the Dragon-Lord to avenge a murdered poet. Many criminals of Binkat suffer a sudden loss of blood, and the authorities look for a mysterious killer. Then, the old dragon Mundarcho Ashdar is found asleep in the Mountain Under the Moon, a dry river flows again, and suddenly, dragons are everywhere.