Darna shouldn't have been born – priestesses aren't supposed to have babies – and she most certainly shouldn't see dragons. After all, no one else does, except in Anamat, or so the minstrels say. She sets out for the city of Anamat. Along the way, she meets Myril, an older girl with frequent premonitions and an eerie sense of hearing. Then there's Iola, who is so dragon-struck that she actually wants to be a priestess. She's blind to the corruption in the temples. Thorat is Iola's champion. He sees dragons as much as the girls do, but unlike them he blends easily in to a crowd. Apart from these four, the city seems to be nearly as dragon-blind as the provinces. Darna scavenges for scraps, but apprenticeships cost more than she’s likely to earn. When she's offered a sack of gold beads for a small bit of thieving, she takes her chances... and ends up angering the dragon herself.