In a hidden alcove within Chicago's Art Institute, Max McDaniels discovers a faded tapestry. As he watches, the tapestry begins to glow; soon after, he receives an invitation to attend a private boarding school in New England. When he arrives at Rowan Academy, where young people with Potential are trained to fight an unnamed enemy, he and the other apprentices are housed in magically morphing rooms and assigned animal charges. Max is paired with the last lymrill in the world, a nocturnal creature with metallic quills.
Rachel's got some pretty strange stuff happening. She can't control her morphing. One minute, she's doing homework. The next, she's morphing a full-grown crocodile, and -- without returning to human form -- she becomes an elephant. That's when the floor gives way and Rachel finds herself looking up at what used to be the kitchen ceiling. What's going on? No one's sure, but Rachel and the other Animorphs have to figure it out -- quickly. Because if someone sees Rachel's out-of-control morphing, the other Animorphs and Ax are in for some serious trouble...
