After returning from their fraught trip to Terra de Gossos, a simple job escorting Doctor Leslie and her students from Markhurst University sounded like a reasonable way to end the summer. But her destination was the Spire, a magical monolith in the center of the Dark Woods, a circle of trees where daylight rarely reaches the ground, and jurisdictions cannot decide who should enforce the law.

Complicating matters is the discovery of the body of the only other member of the theater troupe that Lois and Michael, Randall's squirrel protégées and surrogate children, belonged to before being orphaned, a threatening note, and a mysterious follower.