After the assassination of his father the King of Yensenti, Bern must flee for his own life. Using the Pipes of the Guardians, Bern calls the storm eagles to assist him. A storm eagle removes him from the threat of his enemies, but it also flies him through the Portals--the two black towers of the Guardians. Emerging from the Portals in the midst of a violent storm, Bern rescues Kate the princess of Llodyn from drowning but in doing so loses the pipes and is abandoned by the storm eagle. Bern finds he has been stranded fifty-two years in the future, in a foreign land, with no apparent way home. Through the foresight of his own mother and the help of friends old and new, Bern acquires pipes for calling the storm eagles. He also learns the truth of his father's assassination and the grim fate of his country. Armed with this knowledge and with the pipes, Bern plans his return home hoping to set history right and save his country from brutal conquest. But the inquisitive, scheming Kate complicates his plans when her interference causes the storm eagles to take her, along with Bern, back through the portals -- back fifty-two years to Bern's time and country. Both Bern and Kate learn that the flights of the storm eagles are not without purpose, and Kate has an integral part to play in stopping the annihilation of Bern's people.