JaRed is a Commoner in the underground mouse city of Tira-Nor. Nicknamed "Runt" for his diminutive size, he's been a hero since he saved the city last summer. Unfortunately, a seer has anointed him to be the next king, when all JaRed wants is to protect his family and friends. The reigning king, a jealous and unpredictable tyrant named SoSheth, is furious at this apparent threat to his dynasty. It doesn't matter that JaRed isn't seeking the crown. In the middle of the night, JaRed is dragged from his home and beaten. He is accused of treason and driven into exile. SoSheth plans to have him murdered on the border of the north meadows. Before the king's assassins can kill him, JaRed encounters a band of marauding rats led by a sinister, cunning villain called Kreeg. Kreeg is feared for a long poisoned claw he affectionately refers to as "War Claw" that can kill with just a scratch. When JaRed escapes the King's assassins, SoSheth empties Tira- Nor of its defenders to pursue him though the Dark Forest. Trapped between two powerful enemies, JaRed unwittingly becomes the bait in a deadly game of escalating stakes. Meanwhile, a bewildering question presents itself in the scorn and curiosity of those who get close to him: Who do you think you are? JaRed has no answer. He has always believed Right makes Might, but now he doesn't know what to believe. Only one thought keeps him from descending to the moral level of Kreeg and SoSheth: Becoming evil is the worst thing that can happen to