Shortly after the flood that killed Lichenfur and messed up the camp, SkyClan is doing its best to recover. They're clearing the debris and rebuilding dens. Life goes on: Cherrytail is expecting Sharpclaw's kits. Harveymoon surprises Leafstar by being one of the most helpful cats to pitch in. Despite this, spirits are a bit low. Leafstar is visited in a dream by Spottedleaf, who warns her that Sol will bring trouble.
Though Sol does his best to be helpful, he's unhappy that Leafstar won't make him a warrior yet, and she's not entirely sure he understands the warrior code. That's not her only cause for concern, though: Fallowfern, Patchfoot, and Petalnose tell Leafstar they're considering leaving the Clan because they're afraid of the damage and loss of lives that another flood could cause, and Leafstar learns that Billystorm's been telling her kits that he'll take them to live in the Twolegplace, because he's afraid that living in the Clan isn't safe for them. She accuses him of not being loyal to SkyClan or to her, and tells him to leave.
Billystorm doesn't show up the next day. Leafstar feels extremely stressed out with everything going on, so to get her mind off things, she gives Sol an assessment. He does okay, but not the best, at hunting, and they come across the scent of a loner or rogue, and the trail leads them to the Twoleg nest (which is now empty) where Petalnose and Shrewtooth had been mistreated by the Twoleg. Leafstar explains the history of the place to Sol, and they head back to camp. The next day, Billystorm still doesn't show up. The kits are afraid that they did something to make him not love them, but she assures them that this isn't the case. Seeing how distressed her friend is, Echosong offers Leafstar to take a walk with her. The kits are old enough to behave themselves without a cat constantly watching over them, so Leafstar and Echosong leave them in the camp. The two spend the afternoon hunting, telling stories, and just trying to relax. It works for a while... until they arrive back at the gorge, and Leafstar learns that her kits are missing.
Leafstar frantically asks her Clanmates if they've seen her kits, and they search, but don't find anything. She also asks if anyone's seen Billystorm, because she's afraid he's taken them back to his Twoleg nest. That night, Leafstar wakes up to find Sharpclaw speaking to a large group of SkyClan cats, and they leave the gorge. Honeypaw explains to Leafstar that he's taking a patrol to Billystorm's house, and that she doesn't think Billystorm would ever do something like that; that he could be harmed for no reason. Leafstar agrees, and she takes a shortcut to Billystorm's house. Leafstar gets there first and tells him urgently that he has to go with her, and they quickly climb to the roof of the house to see a patrol of nine SkyClan warriors arrive, furiously searching for Billystorm. Leafstar confronts them, covering for Billystorm. He blurts out in shock, "The kits are gone?!" He angrily tells Sharpclaw to go right ahead and search his Twolegs' next, but Sharpclaw realizes that it must not have been Billystorm. Everyone heads back to camp.
When Leafstar wakes up the next day, Sol returns from spending the whole night searching for her kits. Sharpclaw offers to send out more search patrols, but Leafstar declines, explaining that they shouldn't wear themselves too thin trying to take care of the Clan and search for the kits. She, Billystorm, and Echosong end up going. Billystorm and Leafstar apologize to each other. Leafstar suddenly remembers how Sol had scented the strange cat the other day... and she realizes that she smells more now. They spot a group of eight rogues heading toward the gorge. They get back to camp first and warn the Clan. After a short fight, the intruders are driven away. SkyClan is proud of how they've supported each other, and Patchfoot, Fallowfern, and Petalnose decide to stay.
The next morning, Leafstar asks Shrewtooth if he's okay, since he seems worn out. He explains that Sol kept him awake last night with his coming and going searching for the kits, and that Sol tracked some sort of stinky leaves into the den that keep clinging to his pelt. Around sunhigh, Leafstar notices Sol leaving the camp, with Shrewtooth sneaking around behind him, following him. Something seems odd here, so she follows as well. Sol ends up going to the old Twoleg nest, where he's been keeping the kits under a bush, bringing them prey (he tells them it's because their den back in the gorge is being rebuilt.) Shrewtooth confronts Sol, and Sol attacks him. Leafstar steps in and pins down Sol, ordering Shrewtooth to bring the rest of the Clan.
Sol tells Leafstar that he's always overlooked. Scorned because he's a kittypet. Never made the leader of a patrol. Leafstar won't even make him a warrior. So the only way for him to get the Clan to notice him was to find Leafstar's kits. Leafstar furiously tells him that this proves he has no understanding of the warrior code. Her kits were vulnerable alone out there - they could have died because of this stupid stunt. She tells him that the Clan is a family, and that the warrior code means that they must always look out for each other. Sol only has his own interests at heart. The rest of the Clan arrives, and Leafstar banishes Sol from SkyClan. They tell him to go away, and Sol accuses Billystorm of having no right to tell him that, because he doesn't give himself fully to the Clan either - he goes back to a Twoleg nest every night. Billystorm says he won't - not any longer. The Clan is his family, and he belongs in the gorge. Sol tells them all that they're foolish for following the warrior code. They're hindered because they think StarClan will save them from rats or a flood. Finally, after his little speech is over, he leaves. Billystorm asks Leafstar what if Sol doesn't leave - what if he shows up at the gorge? Looking around and seeing her loyal warriors alongside her, Leafstar says, "Let him try."
Tropes appearing in this volume:
- Adapted Out: Creekfeather, Sagepaw and Egg do not appear in this trilogy.
- Alertness Blink: When some rogues attack the Clan, the rogue leader has an exclamation point appear above him when he notices a patrol of SkyClan reinforcements arriving.
- Amateur Sleuth: Shrewtooth tries his paws at solving the mystery of Leafstar's lost kits minutes before Leafstar herself works it out.
- Ascended Fanboy: Deconstructed in this trilogy. Sol's mother always got him and his siblings to behave by telling them stories of the Sky Warriors, which were the SkyClan cats from the days before the Clan was destroyed. Sol always loved the stories of the Sky Warriors. When his mom left him at the home of a crazy cat lady, he wished that he could become a Sky Warrior, because he thought that if he did, she would come back. After he grew up, he learned that SkyClan had been rebuilt, and wanted nothing more than to become one of its members. Leafstar, SkyClan's leader, let him join, but no matter how much he tried he didn't have what it took. She promised that she would let him become a warrior after he had proved himself, but Sol, fueled by his dreams from kithood, was impatient. To try to become a SkyClan warrior faster, he kidnapped Leafstar's kits, planning to "find" them after she realized they were missing and become a warrior because of it. Leafstar caught him however, and exiled him, realizing that he had none of the qualities of a true warrior. Because of this, Sol turned against the Clans, and vowed to destroy their Code of Honor to prove that it was worthless.
- Attack the Tail: Leafstar chomps down on the rogue leader's tail. He then orders his cats to retreat.
- Cassandra Truth: Spottedleaf tried to tell Leafstar that Sol wasn't meant to be a warrior. All the same, Leafstar questions the warning, as she firmly believes anyone can be a warrior who wants to be.
- Character Development:
- Fallowfern, Patchfoot, and Petalnose initially wanted to leave SkyClan because they feared what would come about if they experienced another flood or some other unforeseen problems. But later, during the battle against the rogues, they all join in the fight as The Cavalry. At the conclusion of the battle, one of the even tells off a rogue that they are stronger as a Clan.
- Leafstar banishing Sol can count as this. One of the reasons she keeps defending that Sol deserves a chance to be a warrior is because a great deal of SkyClan was made from cats who simply wanted to join or even gave up their kittypet life, such as Billystorm. But when she learns that Sol kidnapped her kit for the selfish intention of making himself look worthy, being the mother she is, doesn't take it lying down. She then lets Sol know being a warrior is about more than wanting to join, it's about being a family.
- Billystorm previously had a somewhat flimsy sense of loyalty towards Clan life, suggesting to his kits and mate they go live with his Twolegs if things get dangerous or inconvenient. But towards the end, he swears off his kittypet life to make his Clan life official, having realized being safe isn't nearly as important as being with his family and friends.
- Colorization: SkyClan and the Stranger was originally drawn and released in black-and-white, in three different volumes. James Barry later colorized it and it was re-released as a single volume.
- Confused Question Mark: Leafstar has one appear above her head when she notices Sharpclaw leading a patrol out at night. Billystorm also gets one when Leafstar tells him to come with her and that there's no time to explain.
- A Day in the Limelight: The manga trilogy is Leafstar's, aside from SkyClan's Destiny.
- Death Glare: Leafstar proves herself very capable of giving death glares. One of them is enough to make her mate drop the prey he's carrying.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Sol thought Leafstar was denying him a place as a warrior out of prejudice of his kittypet background. He fails to understand that it has less to do with that and more to do with his overall incompetence at being a warrior and (as of recently) his kidnapping of Leafstar's kits.
- Dramatic Drop: Billystorm drops the prey he's carrying when he sees Leafstar giving him a Death Glare.
- Easily Forgiven: Played with. Billystorm proves surprisingly loyal to SkyClan towards the end, despite that they previously treated him as the scapegoat to the abduction of his and Leafstar's kits. However, between having time to forgive the clan and having a heart-to-heart with Leafstar, it's possible Billystorm forgave them all on the grounds that they were trying to find his kits.
- Engineered Heroics: Sol's motive behind stealing Leafstar's kits. He hoped that if the kits were to "go missing" and he were to "find" them, then surely he would be made a warrior. The problem is, not only is Sol eventually caught red-pawed in the act of hiding the kits away, but Leafstar lampshades that her children could've died because of his incompetence.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Leaftstar pegs Sol as this when she learns he kidnapped her kittens in order to "find" them and be recognized as a warrior. She rightfully accuses that for all his ambition to become a Warrior, he has no comprehension of the Warrior Code.
- Foreshadowing:
- Spottedleaf's warned that perhaps Sol wasn't mean to join SkyClan. Sure enough, upon discovering Sol kidnapped her kits, Leafstar comes to the same conclusion that he's not worthy of being a warrior.
- Sol not participating in the battle between SkyClan and the rogues hints that indeed, perhaps he's not nearly as worthy to be a warrior as Leafstar thinks.
- Heroic BSoD: Tangle suffers this after Lichenfur's death.
- Inconsistent Coloring: Fallowfern. In this volume she's a pale sandy yellowish she-cat with tabby markings on her face and no tuft of fur on her head. She did appear this way in part of volume 1, but she also appeared with a different appearance in volume 1 (while sitting with her mate Waspwhisker) and 2 (when mentioning her kits Nettlesplash and Plumwillow): the same warm brown color as Clovertail, but with a tuft of fur on her head, blue eyes, and no white chest.
- It's All About Me: Sol got it into his head that if he kidnapped Leafstar's kittens and then staged it to look like he found them, he'd earn the respect he thinks he so "deserves". Somehow, it eluded him that not only did his plan potentially put the kittens in harm's way, but it caused the Clan (Leafstar especially) so much grief, worry and heartache. And lets not forget, his machinations also lead to Billystorm being wrongfully accused of kidnapping the kittens.
- Like Mother, Like Son: In the previous book's flashback, Cinders was established to be the furthest thing from a loving, tender mother. In the present, Sol threatens the kittens he'll let them starve if they don't like the mice he catches. Apparently, he inherited his mother's 'way with children'.
- Mama Bear: When Leafstar learns that Sol kidnapped her kits, she absolutely loses it and fights him with everything she's got. What really gets under her fur is the very thought that during this whole scheme, Sol left the kits unattended, which could've lead to them getting lost, hurt, or even killed.
- Manchild: When Sol confronts Leafstar on how he deserves to be a warrior, he starts thumping the ground, the equivalent of stomping on the ground in a tantrum.
- The Noun and the Noun: The trilogy name, SkyClan and the Stranger.
- Oh, Crap!: Billystorm pulls this when Leafstar gives him a death glare when their kits tell her that their dad wants to take them to his Twoleg's place to stay safe for a while. In fact, he even drops the squirrel he was carrying when he sees her!
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Leafstar gives one to Sol when he steals her kits just so he could "rescue" them and become a warrior.Sol: I'm always overlooked! Never made leader of a patrol... always scorned because I used to be a kittypet! I can be a warrior!Leafstar: No. You can't. You have no understanding of the warrior code at all. What you've done here proves it. You've risked the lives of young kits...by leaving them alone here. Anything could have happened to them. They could have been lost. They could have died. My kits could have died. But you didn't just betray me. You betrayed the entire Clan. You did all this...and you never considered how it would make any of us feel. The Clan is a family, Sol. A community. And you're incapable of thinking about anyone but yourself. I banish you from SkyClan. You've betrayed my trust, betrayed the warrior code...betrayed everything I thought you believed in.
- In response, Sol gives TWO of these. The first is to Billystorm about being a daylight warrior, only for Billystorm to retort that he's moving into the gorge from now on with his Clan, so then he gives the second to SkyClan for thinking that the warrior code could keep them safe forever.
- Ruler Protagonist: Leafstar balances her responsibilities as leader with raising a litter of kits.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Billystorm gives one of these to Sol during Sol's "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Spoiler Title: Like SkyClan's Destiny, the trilogy title spoils the fact that there's a long-lost Clan out there for those who have not read Firestar's Quest. However, by being named after the Clan rather than the viewpoint character, it avoids spoiling which member of the newly founded SkyClan becomes leader at the end of Firestar's Quest.
- Start of Darkness: This trilogy, specifically this volume, is one for Sol.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Cherrytail has the kits of her mentor Sharpclaw, though this is long after she becomes a warrior and is no longer mentored by him.
- Team Title: SkyClan and the Stranger.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Leafstar isn't happy that her mate Billystorm would tell their kittens they would go to live with his Twolegs, or even suggest they all go live with his Twolegs. She even calls him out on his alleged idea of taking the kittens away from their mother, as though he expects Leafstar to forget she ever had three kittens to begin with.
- Wingding Eyes: The dead squirrel that Billystorm brings to camp has an X for an eye.
