Sixteen year old Rhn is a young citizen of the wealthy and powerful nation of Tekaania. His intelligence has won him a place at the Thor-Tekaas Military Academy, where he is engulfed in a melting pot of fierce patriotism, military discipline, harsh training, and the boisterous socialising of the cadet community. One day, Rhn meets a young foreign diplomat called Platon, of the race of the Sagacioni that Tekaans call the Sagelords, and he instantly falls in love. But things are not as they seem. An ancient secret society called the Knighthood of Jador, dedicated to the annihilation of the Sagicioni for the feuds of a thousand years before, has taken root at the Academy. Desperately, Rhn joins Platon in a fraught race to the safety of the Island of Atlania, home of the Sagacioni. But the Knighthood are slowly taking over the matchless military resources of Tekaania, and the fugitives find themselves running in a deadly race against time.