On a mission to pay the ransom of a new ally, apprentice Will and his friends find themselves in a desert wasteland awash with enemies.

In a faraway land, a young warrior must protect an emperor from an uprising and train an inexperienced army, with assistance from his Ranger friends.

A tale that brings the Ranger's Apprentice arc full circle finds an adult Will struggling with the loss of his beloved wife and reluctantly mentoring the headstrong daughter of Horace and Evanlyn so that she can assume leadership over the floundering Rangers.

Halt, Will, and Horace set out for Hibernia, where a quasi-religious group, the Outsiders, is sowing confusion and sedition, and they find that secrets from Halt's past may hold the key to restoring order before the last kingdom is undermined.

Hal, who does not fit into Skandian society, ends up in a brotherband, a group of boys learning the skills that they need to become warriors, with other outcasts, and they compete with other brotherbands in a series of challenges.

Caught in a massive storm at sea, the Brotherband crew wash up on the shores of a distant land where they are welcomed by a peaceful tribe that is being invaded by warlike rivals.

Hal and the Herons celebrate their victory in the Brotherband competition only to be wrongly blamed for the theft of a sacred artifact that they must risk their lives to reclaim.

In 1896, an archaeological dig unearths an ancient trunk containing manuscripts that confirm the existence of Araluen Rangers Will and Halt and tell of their first meeting and some of their previously unknown exploits.

Charged by Araluen's King Duncan to covertly rescue the Prince of Gallica from a politically ambitious baron, Will Treaty and his apprentice Maddie take to the road disguised as father and daughter jongleurs.

"When Maddie and Will get a message that dire wolves--huge misshapen changelings, much larger than regular wolves--have been marauding and attacking through the hills and valleys of Celtica, the Rangers are sent on a mission to unravel just who or what is behind these dangerous creatures. Will isn't anxious to return to Celtica, especially approaching the Rift. And as they travel, Maddie must grapple with their growing dealings with the spiritual...