Feisty Shay longs to wear britches and cut her hair short. Even more, she'd love for all who live in Oldenshire, her fortress home, to stop eating meat. When hunters capture a pouncer for the Harvest Revel's "mane course," Shay decides to act. With the help of Alexy (the laundress's mute son) and Bridger (Da's retired war horse), she concocts a plan to free the beast before it winds up on Da's holiday spit. The pouncer repays Shay in a big way, bringing his own kingdom to the rescue when her fortress home falls under enemy siege. The problem? Da's soldiers see the forest citizens as their enemies too. Two kingdoms, divided by culture and language, multiplied by fear and misunderstanding, equals the chaos of war. Shay's mathematical mind sees it like this: [ (K1 + K2) ÷ (c + l) ] x (f + m) = war. Can two imperiled children and a tired old horse save the day? Shay and Alexy must act before their fortress families and forest friends harm each other. It will take bravery, but Shay must try. After all, she gave the pouncer his freedom, but in return he gave her the greatest gift of all, a whole new kind of bravery: the courage to be her true self.