Raf and his family live high up in the colossal trees of the Aeril Forest where they are preparing to host the famous annual Festival. Raf isn't too bothered about it. All he wants to do is finish school and go travelling. But having both parents on the village Council isn't easy and he feels increasingly frustrated at the pressure being heaped on him. His stubbornness is challenged though, when he discovers he has a powerful talent that lets him use music in unexpected and magical ways. Things quickly fall apart in the forest when a mysterious disease starts killing the trees - no small problem when they live hundreds of yards above the ground - and rumors spread of a military invasion in the north, as well as of a violent stranger who seems to somehow be the cause of the tree decay. Faced with the desperate need to find a cure for the Forest and seek out a teacher to help him harness his new found powers, Raf is swept away on an unexpected journey far from his home into the heart of the desert, where even greater challenges await him...