Ronan is the teenage crown prince of Perinthia and son of the legendary, dragon-rider king who saw an end to his country's tyranny. The boy is struggling to get out from under his father's shadow, and is convinced the only way he can become great himself is to also become dragon bound.
There is however a problem: In this world such a thing is not only rare, but is seen as a holy honor which elevates the rider to the mantle of prophet, and Ronan's character is far from noble.
When he is told no he decides to take matters into his own hands and takes that which he desires, fleeing his home on a fishing boat across the sea. Now isolated from the protection of his family and home land Ronan is about to find out how much less forgiving of his transgressions the world is without his privilege to hide behind.