Plot Summary

The Prolouge begins with Mapleshade discussing the Dark Forest. Then we go to see Mapleshade's story.

The first battle as warrior vs RiverClan. She sees a handsome tom and flees because she didn’t want to fight him. She goes to a gathering and sits next to him. She learns his name is Shellsplash. She agrees to meet him in 7 nights. Sweetpaw follows her on the seventh night and stops her. Mapleshade doesn’t tell her where she was going and they return. Mapleshade patrols the RiverClan border 3 days later. They arrange another meeting. Sweetpaw then overhears him flirting with another RiverClan cat. She follows Mapleshade and warns her about him. She goes anyway, and asks him if he liked any other cat. He replies that he doesn’t. They stay the night and she returns the next morning. Mapleshade then promises Sweetpaw she won’t meet him again. (A few moons later) Sweetpaw is now Sweetbriar. She points out that Mapleshade is fat. Mapleshade doesn’t feel well so she visits the medicine cat, Mudspots. He says she is expecting kits. He asks who the father is and she runs to Sweetbriar. She tells her everything and Sweetpaw tells her to follow her. She takes her to the RiverClan border and they wait. Mapleshade watches with horror as Shellsplash appears and flirts with another she-cat. Mapleshade grows very sick a moon before the kits are born. Her friend Duckfoot moves into the nursery. In a moon, she kits named Lilykit, Cedarkit and Stonekit. Duckfoot has Moonkit and Goosekit in three moons. Sweetbriar moves to the nursery. Goosekit overhears Mapleshade talking to Sweetbriar about Shellsplash. Goosekit tells Duckfoot, who tells the leader, Graystar. Graystar banished Mapleshade and her kits. She takes them across the river the Shellsplash. He tells her he doesn’t love her. She leaves and the kits drown. She begins to kill RiverClan cats and even ThunderClan cats. She meets Sweetbriar and she says that she had a kit named Shattershade who was named after her. She had also recently had two kits, Pinekit and Poppykit. Mapleshade walks off, stating that she will kill every cat in her way until she gets complete revenge.

The book then flips to Shredtail's story.