Young inventor Owen Pyke would rather build mechanical men and steam-powered potato peelers than become an armored, gryphon-riding knight of the sky. But joining the Gryphonwind guild is Owen's only ticket out of the orphanage. Together with his beloved bond-gryphon Odrynn, Owen and his fellow Gryphonwind cadets train for aerial battle in the war to end faun slavery in the south. After Owen angers his faun friend By'yalt'r by flirting with By'yalt'r's boyfriend Eryk, the faun disappears and Owen is suspected of harming him. Owen must quickly find out what happened to By'yalt'r while avoiding the violent anger of the faun's bond-gryphon, along with a private detective hiding a terrifying secret and a nosy reporter who might be a werewolf. But an unsavory man follows Owen to stop the boy from uncovering the truth. And the angry Gryphonwind armies of the southern protectorates are drawing ever closer to the great city of Port Cedryssene...