Like its predecessor, The Bark of the Bog Owl, this book is loosely based on the life of David (of The Bible), but set in the mythical land of Corenwald, which is very much like the southern coastal swamps of the United States where the author grew up. In this installment, King Darrow becomes jealous of Aidan, who triumphed over the Pyrthens and whom the prophet Bayard says will be the Wilderking. After Aiden's three years of study at Tambluff Castle, the king sends the young man on a fool's errand into the Feechiefen Swamp (from which no one has ever returned alive), to bring back the frog orchid that might cure Darrow's melancholy. Of course, Aiden finds help among his feechiefolk friends, but he also finds a new enemy waiting in the swamp's deepest recess masquerading as the Wilderking. The book ends on a somewhat sad, though not entirely hopeless, note and sets the stage for the climax of Book 3, for which we eagerly waited.