Bitterpaw is struggling with nightmares. They all regard water. They all regard his brother's death. Badgerpaw (the brother in question) is struggling with ShadowClan. A mouse-brained ThunderClan apprentice gave them the opportunity to threaten the battle they've been itching to fight. Will the brothers come out on top, or will their struggles overtake them—and their Clan?

Bitterpaw keeps having dreams about his brother, Badgerpaw, and in every one of them, Badgerpaw dies in some way regarding water. While Bitterpaw struggles to figure out what they could mean, Badgerpaw can't deal with the fact that the ShadowClan leader, Nettlestar, is planning to fight ThunderClan soon. Will the two brothers be able to save their Clan from destruction?

Echokit has a knowledge of herbs he's not even sure how he acquired. ThunderClan's medicine cat sees it as a blessing and encourages Echokit to become his apprentice. Unsure how to decline, Echokit finds himself faced with an annoying StarClan cat, a mentor who doesn't seem to care about his opinion, and the question of how to fulfill the destiny he's not sure was meant for him.