Young Hal Kailas is a runaway and a pauper, living hand-to-mouth in a kingdom where peace is by no means certain. But Hal has a dream. In his even younger days, he had the awesome experience of bonding with a young dragon-and the memory of the beast's great strength and power consumes his every thought. When war finally comes, the most daring and ruthless of men ride these fearsome dragons-monstrous weapons of war that are rulers of the sky. Few men are strong enough to bend a dragon's will, but Hal has reason to think he may be one of them.