After the destruction of the kingdom of Parros, the twins Rinda Farseer and Remus Farseer want to escape to Argos but are accidentally sent to the Roodwood. They are attacked by Mongauli black knights but are saved by Guin, a warrior with a human body but a head of a leopard. After Rinda and Remus treat Guin, they find out that he is amnesiac. The dark spirits of Roodwood attack them at night during a downpour, urging them to escape together through the forest across the River Kes.