A surprise visitor to the Aerie provides devastating news for Happenstance about his past—but it's the future that Umber and Hap must contend with: they need to learn all they can about Meddlers if they are to discover what Hap's role in Umber's mission is to be. And that means a risky trip to The Inferno, where Caspar has taken the key pages of Umber's research. But that's only one of the perilous journeys Umber has in mind for his mysterious ward: Umber's nemesis, the wheeling and dealing Hameron, has acquired some dragon eggs, and Umber can't resist the opportunity to study a new magical species, even if it means a trip to the corrupt kingdom of Sarnica. But when he and Hap see what the warlord of Sarnica has planned for the dragon hatchlings at the upcoming Dragon Games, Umber's quest for knowledge turns into a dangerous rescue operation.