On the way to retrieve the fifth gem, located in Dread Mountain, Lief has a vision that his parents are in danger and must decide whether or not to continue with Barda and Jasmine, knowing that if the Shadow Lord is not defeated there is no hope for anyone.

They have found three gems. Now they must seek the fourth, hidden in a shimmering, barren waste, kept jealously by an unknown guardian. Separation, confusion and strange, terrible enemies await them in the ordeal of the Shifting Sands.

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine continue their perilous quest to recover the seven lost gems of the magic belt of Deltora so the evil Shadow Lord can be overthrown. Strengthened in finding the golden topaz and the great ruby, they search for the third stone. But none of them know the horrors that await them in the forbidden City of the Rats. Includes special trading cards. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine have succeeded in finding the golden topaz and the great...

Rye has defeated the sorcerer Olt, freed the island of Dorne, and rescued one of his brothers, but when he returns to the city of Weld with his three companions, he finds that very little has changed--the skimmer monsters still attack at night and the Warden is behaving very strangely.