Years have passed since the Dune Dragons’ last adventure. In that time, Chryllis and Jilly have matured, and Zuzu is now an irrepressible teenager. The book opens with a cherry-pit-spitting contest. When it’s her turn, Zuzu shows off by pit-spitting with dragon breath, never imagining that her actions will have serious consequences. Later, when the young Dras happen upon an injured fairy, they are horrified to discover her wing pierced by one of Zuza’s molten cherry pits and that she is unable to fly.

Dra law demands the culprits make amends. Winter is just around the corner, and the young dragons decide they must transport the fairy to a warmer climate where she might better recuperate. And so begins one of the most fantastic voyages of all time—a journey that takes them from Lake Michigan’s magnificent Sleeping Bear Dunes to the fabled mound city of Cahokia on the Midwestern plains to the heart of the tropics.