On a dying continent, shapeshifting dragons known as Darkhan reign supreme.Zahra' s life is defined by Mahj, the darkhan who helped raise her after her parents' death, and Kamar, her older brother, who maintains their farm and resents the darkhan' s control.Everything Zahra knows is upended when two darkhan ransack the farm, and Kamar goes missing in a town fire. Mahj offers her the choice to become a paladin for the darkhan, knowing her older brother despises them, or join the rebels for a cause she doesn' t believe in. As she grapples with the loss of her brother, Zahra unravels the truth of the world-- the civil war, her parents' death, the dying planet-- but only if she can survive it first.