When she is sent as part of the delegation from Tortall to negotiate a peace treaty with Carthak, fifteen-year-old Daine must use her powers to communicate with animals for more than healing the Carthak emperor's dying birds.
Alanna continues to create her own life as a female warrior when she and new companions journey to the Roof of the World seeking the powerful Dominion Jewel, perhaps the last hope of saving her country from dissension and hostile magic.
Pursuing her desire to be a knight, Alanna learns many things in her role as squire to Prince Jonathan, but fears Duke Roger, an ambitious sorcerer with whom she knows she will one day have to deal.
Fifteen original short stories by various authors relate the exploits of teenage warriors who defeat their enemies with cunning and skill as they strive to fulfill their destinies.
When sixteen-year-old Beka becomes "Puppy" to a pair of "Dogs," as the Provost's Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities, and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall's Lower City.
Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page, a learning many hard lessons along her path to high adventure.