Raised in a pleasant one-room cottage a discreet distance from the village, Summer had a secure and industrious childhood. Tutored at home by her mother and the men she entertained, Summer was the best-educated girl in the province, and all for one goal: so someday she'd have all that her mother never had a suitable mate and a home of her own. But her cozy, predictable life changed suddenly when, at the age of 17, she was oprhaned. Left with a small dowry of foreign coins and a ring said to be made from the horn of a unicorn, she planned to head for the nearest largest city where she hire a marriage broker and be married straightaway.
It wasn't long, though before her journey began to get strange. The ring she'd slipped on wouldn't come off, and soon she became aware that her perceptions were heightened. Most startling of all was her new ability to speak with animals. The dog Growch was the first, but she hadn't reckoned on the ragtag lot of creaturesthat followed, all needing her help.
The gruff-voiced dog, broken-down horse, crippled pigeon, half-dead tortoise and flying pig would lead Summer on an adventure she never anticipated a perilous quest filled with robber assassins, a vengeful ghost and a wicked Lady and she was to find her journey's end very different from what she expected.