When Delsina returns with water to her home and mentions a stranger was asking about them, her peaceful family reaches for their weapons while her oldest brother, Talem, picks her up and runs. She watches as the stranger who carries fire in his hands burns her home and family. As they make their journey away from Sethrum, Man of Fire, Talem reveals to Delsina who she really is; what he, Talem, must do; and how Delsina must stay hidden. Under such duress, Delsina discovers her power, and hopes to use it against her enemy before he uses fire against her, Talem and others she meets, including the anaries—miniature dragons that were thought to be extinct.