Poet Tomas Binnori, liubimets korolia, umiraet ot dushevnoi bolezni. Vse usiliia lekarei i magov-medikusov tschetny. Spasti neschastnogo mozhet lish" garpiia - zhenschina-ptitsa, obitatel"nitsa rezervatsii na Strofadskikh ostrovakh. No soglasitsia li ona, pomnia, kak liudi voevali s ee plemenem, vytesniaia s iskonnykh zemel"? A esli dast soglasie - chto sdelaet Kelena-Mrachnaia s poetom, znaia, chto vozdeistvie garpii ne sposobny zametit" samye opytnye charodei Rettii? Za krylatoi gost"ei slediat vse - leib-malefaktor Neksus, privat-demonolog Kruchek, kapitan leib-strazhi Shternblad, vorishka Kris-Neposeda, professor Isidora Gorgauz, v proshlom - brannyi mag... ..