| The series begins from the perspective of a flame colored kitten named Rusty, who has recently been plagued by strange dreams about the forest, which lies outside the twoleg(human) neighborhood that he lives in. Against the warnings of his friend, Smudge, Rusty ventures into the forest, where he is ambushed, and then released by a gray kitten, identified as Graypaw,(later known as Graystripe) who becomes Rusty's prime friend and confidante throughout the rest of subsequent books and series. During the encounter, Rusty is invited to join ThunderClan, one of the four cat warrior clans inhabiting the forest,by its current leader, an older, thick-furred silver she-cat known as Bluestar. Rusty accepts, leaving his twoleg owners behind. He is given his apprentice name, Firepaw, in honor of his flame-colored coat, which reflects the rays of the sun. Later on in the series, Fireheart (Firepaw's warrior name, given at the end of Into The Wild) discovers a plot by Tigerclaw (the deputy of ThunderClan, appointed after the former deputy Lionheart's death in a battle with ShadowClan) to kill Bluestar, in order to succeed her and become leader himself. Tigerclaw, a dark tabby of unusually huge size and long front claws, had killed the former ThunderClan deputy Redtail in a battle with another clan, a secret that Fireheart learned from Ravenpaw, Tigerclaw's apprentice, whom Fireheart led away from the clan in order to protect him from Tigerclaw, in the first installment. After being appointed deputy, Tigerclaw aspired to become leader, and he could achieve this only when Bluestar had died. When Tigerclaw moves his plot into action in Forest of Secrets, however, Fireheart manages to prevent him from killing Bluestar during a planned attack on the Clan(Tigerclaw had gained the support of rogue cats living around the forest in order to have his personal fighting force, and they follow and stay with him for the rest of the series). The then-subdued Tigerclaw is banished from the Clan,and Bluestar selects Fireheart as the new deputy(from that point in the series up until her death, Bluestar becomes distant and effectively insane, having been shaken by Tigerclaw's betrayal, and her weakness causes numerous difficulties in the clan. Later, she dies saving Fireheart and Fireheart goes to Highstones to receive his nine lives. Then Fireheart leads ThunderClan, and has children named Squirrelflight and Leafpool. The series continues with Squirrelflight and Leafpool's adventures and their grandchildren. |
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