So with her cat dragon familiar, Littlewick, by her side, Aloysia does the only sensible thing: she volunteers to return the birds to their homeland on the far side of the world.

But the Land of the First Well is nothing as she imagined. It teems with ancient magic, legendary creatures, and closely guarded secrets. And deep inside a fabled tree, something powerful has been waiting centuries for exactly the wrong person to unleash it…

With her loyal friends along for the ride, a mysterious tea witch offering cryptic guidance, and Hollis Longcaster being distractingly, impossibly himself, Aloysia must solve the mystery they’ve been plunged into – before it destroys everything she loves.