When eleven-year-old Freya meets Morton--a peregrine falcon who has been stripped of his feathers--she has no idea what to make of him. What has happened to this poor creature, and what force has destined that he cross her path? As the often bad-tempered girl and the once-majestic bird begin to form an unlikely bond, they find themselves at the centre of a battlefield--one that pits old against new, god against mortal, peace against war, and brother against brother.