Ghost circles: The adventure starts when cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of Boneville and later get separated and lost in the wilderness, meeting monsters and making friends as they attempt to return home.

Treasure hunters: Driven from their home, they become allies of the people of the valley in their struggle against the invading Rat Creatures and the Hooded One. In this volume, the Bones, along with Gran'ma Ben (a.k.a. Rose, the land's queen, returning from exile) and her granddaughter Thorn, enter the city of Atheia, where Gran'ma reunites with old allies and faces danger from a usurper while Phoney Bone schemes to take charge of the city's treasury.

Crown of horns: Trapped in a dungeon while the fate of the Valley is decided by two raging armies, Thorn is haunted by the dangerous and mysterious object of power known as the Crown of Horns. Guarded by dragons, the Crown of Horns is the only thing that can stop the Locust and end the war... but how, and at what price? Fone Bone believes he knows the answer, and he must decide where his heart truly lies...