Thomas Patten and his classmates grew up on a foggy island, each destined to become a shapeshifter, able to transform into a fabulous creature of myth and legend. But Thomas's first transformation came early. Frightened, he ran away and got himself hopelessly lost in an unfamiliar forest and an entirely different world. Now, six years later, he must choose between a continued life with manticores in the forest... or a return to human society.