George Severe, a former Meteorologist, is a reluctant leader in a strange levitating world he had discovered while working for a clandestine agency. The Land is at peace, but George knows it will not last. He asks the Land's Warriors and Dragons to prepare for an impending conflict. Having been thwarted in earlier attempts to gain control, George's nemesis, Mark Waxman, is determined to find and occupy the Land. The agency he serves demands immediate action, but Waxman doesn't want to attack until he has more information about the Land and those who live there. It's just a matter of time before his memory returns and he will be better prepared to lead an invasion. Waxman is not the only one wanting to take control of the Land. Trolls, led by Hilda and her mate, threaten an uprising to displace George and rule the Land in his place. Eventually, the two factions work together to attack Wind Castle. Annie, a crusty mountain guide who had been transformed to the Mother Tree, is drawn to moor the Land at a mountaintop in China where they pick up a new passenger in the guise of a child. The mysterious child is discovered in a village and is escorted to Wind Castle by Anastasia and Elias. George weighs the consequences to the Land and its residents if he chooses to fight. He is convinced that the Land will not respond to anyone of ill intent and must decide if the Land would be better served by surrendering to those who oppose him.