Merlin's fragile home on the isle of Fincayra is threatened by the attack of a mysterious warrior with swords for arms and by the escape of Stangmar from his imprisonment, as Merlin continues to move toward his ultimate destiny.
Through adventures involving a haunted marsh, talking trees, and the creature called the ballymag, the young wizard Merlin continues to experience both his growing powers and his essential humanity.
When she joins her father and several others investigating a strange whirlpool and possible sunken treasure ship off the coast of Baja California, thirteen-year-old Kate is drawn into a centuries-old conflict between Merlin and the evil Vagar.