In the first book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, readers will meet Soren, a barn owl who discovers a great evil in the owl kingdom which he must work to vanquish. When Soren is pushed from his family's nest by his older brother, he is rescued by representatives from a mysterious school for orphaned owls, St. Aggie's. When Soren arrives at St. Aggie's, he suspects there is more to the school than meets the eye. He and his new friend, a clever female elf owl named Gylfie, find out that St. Aggie's is actually a training camp where the school's leader is grooming young owls to help achieve her goal, which threatens the lives of owls everywhere. First Soren and Gylfie must escape. Then they embark on a long and perilous journey to find a way to save all owls from the danger that lurks at St. Aggie's.