Most of the novel revolves around Giogi's efforts to locate and recover an important family heirloom that goes missing just as he is returning to Immersea. The lost heirloom is an artifact from which they take their family name; the wyvern's spur, and the chief initial motivation for its recovery is the omen that the spur's loss will trigger family misfortune. This is underscored when an elder family member, the wizard Drone, is discovered dead and a twisted mage named Flattery makes his presence known.