Soren and his band are sent to the mysterious Northern Kingdoms to gather allies and learn the art of war in preparation for the coming cataclysmic battle against the sinister Pure Ones. Meanwhile, in the Southern Kingdoms, St. Aggies has fallen to the Pure Ones and they are using its resources to plan a final invasion of The Great Ga'Hoole Tree. With the future of all Owldom in the balance, the parliament of Ga'Hoole must decide whether or not to join forces with the brutal Skench and Spoorn and the scattered remnants of St. Aggies who remain faithful to them. The coming conflagration will demand wisdom, bravery, and sacrifice from all the owls of the great tree, and from Soren and the band, nothing less than heroism.

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.