With her 18th birthday only 5 days away, Karissa begins experiencing strange things. Her best friend Amanda is there with her through it. 3 days of strangeness goes by and they meet Lorelai, a young orphan girl from Irkah. The 3 of them overhear Karissa's father, Peter, and Amanda's grandma talking with 2 strange people about Karissa's deceased mother and Amanda's missing parents. Freaked out, the girls run away to talk about it. The next day, Karissa awakes to find that Amanda has disappeared after the storm that crashed into their town. Her and Lorelai want to look for her, but Peter forbade it. On the day of her 18th, she wakes to find that her appearance has changed. She is then quarantined in her home so no one sees her. Lorelai vanishes as well, leaving her completely alone. The next day, the strange people from before have returned, and they bring her to a strange place. There, she meets new people, falls in love, and is introduced to what was apparently her mother's reality of magic and war. She is now forever part of this world, and has to finish the war that many before her had fought and were forced to accepted defeat. Read Eye of the Wyvern to find out more of what happens to Karissa on her journey (this is the best way I could put this description without spoiling the whole thing and giving away juicy details :))