Contains seven stories in which Chuck, a whippet who is terrified of absolutely everything, tries to live up to his owner Danielle's firm belief that he is going to save the universe one day.
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel, who originally cast those spells.
Saranja, Maja, and Ribek must outwit the Watchers, twenty-four of the empire's most powerful and evil magicians, while seeking the Ropemaker to restore the ancient magic that will protect their valley.
When Alfredo, a twelve-year-old choir boy in eighteenth-century Italy, loses his family in a fire, he goes to live with Uncle Giorgio, who he discovers is a sorcerer in control of the fires of Mt. Etna with sinister plans for his nephew.
When a military coup occurs in the constantly war-torn African country of Nagala, teenage Paul is forced to flee into the open countryside to avoid enemy soldiers who seek his life.
In two parallel stories, an intelligent female member of a prehistoric tribe becomes instrumental in advancing the lot of her people, and the daughter of a paleontologist is visiting him on a dig in Africa when important fossil remains are discovered.
In 1989, Letta, an English teenager, learns of her heritage from her grandfather, great-grandson of the legendary hero of Varina, as he becomes involved in the nationalistic political struggles in Eastern Europe.
Eleven-year-old Gavin, devastated when his beloved grandfather suffers a massive stroke, recalls that Grandad had been speaking about the selkies--magical seal people--at the moment of his attack, and sets out to see if the selkies can help him reach his comatose grandfather.
