Renalda Seraphine, or Wren, as she prefers to be called, is not like her sisters. The youngest of five princesses, she has seen the course of her life play out in her eldest siblings' experiences, and she does not like what she sees. Shut out from the rest of the world because of her sharp wit and outspoken nature, Wren gains a closer look at her father, King Hurston's mind. Her father's complacency to his kingdom's problems and her own disgust with the castle she calls home push her to skip her boring lessons and to spend more time among the people, and what she finds in the lives of her fathers' subjects causes even more unrest in her thoughts and dreams.
When her father becomes aware of her actions, he charges a young knight from a neighboring kingdom with the task of keeping her safe in the castle's walls. However, there is something about her bodyguarding babysitter of a warrior that intruiges Wren, and that tells her one thing: This knight is unusual, and may be Wren's only hope for a comrade in a dark time. When Wren eventually learns her assigned attendees secret, the journey and hijinks that follow can only be described as haphazard, hilarious, horrifying, and hell-raisingly fun. Hardly the work of a princess.
