Lucius, Smiley, and Phoney are attacked by the rat creatures and barely make it back to Lucius's tavern. Back at the farm, Fone Bone and Thorn are troubled by strange dreams, and gran'ma Ben's reaction is stranger still: She reveals long-kept secrets and unexpected dangers. In fact, they may have to leave the farm forever.

The war in the valley rages on while the Bones, Gran'ma Ben, and their loyal rat creature cub venture on a dangerous trek to Atheia, the old city of the royal family. The goal is to bring Thorn to safety, but to do so they must first travel through fields of the mysterious ghost circles where reality meets the supernatural -- and all this while fending off deadly attacks from Briar, Kingdok, and the rat creatures.

Long before the Bone cousins were ever lost in the uncharted forest of the Valley, Big Johnson Bone, the discoverer of the Rolling Bone River, founded Boneville. But little is known of the mighty explorer's adventures before he started his famous trading post. So when Smiley sits down with a group of young scouts to retell the legendary stories of Boneville's origins, what they hear are wild antics complete with Rat Creatures, Dragons, and a snarky...