The book starts during Feathertail and Stormfur's warrior ceremony. Feathertail thinks about how she doesn't really feel at home anywhere, and thinks back to how Tigerstar had Stonefur killed and how he would've had the same done to them. She completes the ceremony, promising to protect her Clan at the cost of her life, and she and her brother Stormfur sit vigil.
In the days after their ceremony, Feathertail doesn't really get involved in her Clanmates' conversations or Clan life, and gradually she drifts further and further away from them until Stormfur's the only cat she talks to. She can't forget how the other cats would have been happy to let the pair of them be killed for being half-Clan, how they cheered when Stonefur gave his life trying to protect them. When Ferncloud of ThunderClan (who had been Feathertail's friend during her time as a refugee in ThunderClan) crosses the border chasing a squirrel Feathertail allows her to keep it. Some RiverClan cats show up at that moment and protest this, and Feathertail intercepts one when he starts to attack Ferncloud. This makes her Clanmates question her loyalty, and Feathertail is set to do apprentice duties for a half moon.
One day, a rogue she-cat named Sasha shows up with her kits, Hawk and Moth. Feathertail is a bit jealous at first of how they fit in with the Clan, but eventually - especially after saving Hawk from drowning - she begins to grow close to them since she feels a connection to them, that she is an outsider to the Clan in a similar way to them. The two kits are eventually apprenticed, and Feathertail becomes good friends with Sasha, gradually joining in with Clan life once again as she becomes more comfortable. Then one day a RiverClan queen scolds her kit, using Tigerstar's name to frighten them, and Feathertail notices a look on Sasha's face. She talks to her, and Sasha confesses that Tigerstar was once her mate. Feathertail feels betrayed and says their friendship is over, but promises to keep the secret so that the Clan doesn't turn against the kits. She begins to withdraw again, feeling that the only cat she can trust is herself.
At a Gathering during the events of Firestar's Quest, Feathertail talks to her father, Graystripe. He invites her to join him in ThunderClan, but she declines, wanting to stay with her brother. Leaf-fall approaches, and Sasha decides to leave the Clan, explaining to Feathertail that it's the only way to keep her kits safe, since ShadowClan will recognize her and know who the kits' father is if she stays in RiverClan. Knowing that Tigerstar's their father has already made Feathertail herself view the kits differently: she watches Hawkpaw especially closely, seeing his eagerness to fight.
Once leaf-bare arrives, a hungry fox attacks the camp. They drive it off, but Leopardstar decides that they need to send a patrol after it: this patrol consists of Leopardstar herself, her apprentice Hawkpaw, Feathertail, and Stormfur. They track it outside of Clan territory and finally fight. Leopardstar is badly injured in the fight and tells the others to run and save themselves. In this moment, Feathertail realizes that Leopardstar is willing to give up a life for her, and this makes her even more determined to fight it. Eventually, the three of them - Hawkpaw, Stormfur, and Feathertail - kill the fox. As they make their way back to RiverClan with the wounded Leopardstar, Leopardstar apologizes to Stormfur and Feathertail about her involvement with Tigerstar and what it had led to, and the two forgive her.
Newleaf comes again, and by this time Feathertail truly feels that RiverClan is home. She dreams and is visited by the StarClan warrior Oakheart. He warns her that a new prophecy must be fulfilled, and that she may not survive. She thinks about it for a moment and decides that she's ready for the task, determined to be loyal to her Clan.
Tropes appearing in this volume:
- A Day in the Limelight: Feathertail's only POV aside from a couple chapters in Moonrise.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Hawk falls into the river, Feathertail runs across the camp and dives in afterward to save him.
- Crying Critters: Featherpaw and Stormpaw cry when witnessing Stonefur's death, and Leopardstar has tears sliding down her cheeks when telling the others to run and save themselves.
- Cute Kitten: Hawkfrost and Mothwing are adorable as kits.
- A Dog Named "Cat": Sasha's kits are originally named Hawk and Moth.
- Ear Notch: Stonefur and Tigerstar have them, a nice detail from how they were described in the original books. Feathertail also gives one to the fox when it attacks the camp.
- Easily Forgiven: Stormfur eases back into life in RiverClan without too much worry about the past. It's not as easy for Feathertail to let things go.
- Extra Digits: If you look closely, Blackfoot has six toes on one of his front paws, which was a bit of trivia from the books' first official app.
- Forgiveness: A theme of the story. Feathertail eventually finds it in her to forgive Leopardstar.
- Go for the Eye: Hawkpaw claws the fox's eyes.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Leopardstar intends to give up one of her lives so that her Clanmates can escape.
- Juxtaposed Reflection Poster: The cover shows Feathertail sitting by some water, with an unnaturally dark reflection to reflect her mood in the book.
- Kids Are Cruel: A RiverClan kit bullied Stormkit and Featherkit for being half-Clan.
- Parental Abandonment: Sasha leaves her kits. She thinks it's for the best that they grow up safe in a Clan, without her around to have other cats recognize her and the fact that Tigerstar is the kits' father.
- Past Experience Nightmare: While away on the patrol and sleeping next to Leopardstar, Feathertail has a nightmare of Leopardstar once again accepting Tigerstar's decision to kill her and her brother for being half-Clan.
- Perspective Flip: We see a couple scenes in Feathertail's POV that were originally from other cats in other books: Stonefur's death which we saw through Firestar's eyes in The Darkest Hour, and Sasha's arrival into RiverClan which we saw from Sasha's viewpoint in her manga trilogy. There's also a book released afterward that flips one of the scenes in this book: in Graystripe's Vow, the Gathering scene from Feathertail's POV in this book is seen from Graystripe's viewpoint instead.
- The Promise: Before Sasha leaves, she asks Feathertail to promise that she'll never reveal who the kits' father is. Feathertail agrees, and keeps her promise.
- Red Filter of Doom: Two scenes are shown in ominous red tones: Feathertail's flashback of Tigerstar at the Bonehill where he demanded that Stonefur kill Feathertail and her brother and then ordered Stonefur's death when he refused, and a nightmare sequence of Leopardstar supporting Tigerstar's actions at the same scene.
- Resigned to the Call: At the end of the book, Feathertail isn't pleased to be told that she's the chosen one, but she agrees because she wants to do what's best for her Clan.
- Through a Face Full of Fur: There are several moments where cats' furry cheeks blush pink.
