Even the best-laid plans can go awry. Especially when dragons are involved.

Adelaide Annie, mayor's daughter and children's librarian, is harboring a deadly secret. Magic may have been eradicated in the quaint town of Ambling Bay, but a magical tome remains hidden in Adelaide's treehouse of books. Her plans to run away, however, are rudely interrupted when she crosses paths with the Outlaws, a fearsome group of dragon riders, on her way out of town and is taken for ransom.

Only the Outlaws are headed west to the Barrens, a dangerous desert where magic has sucked the land dry. They are in search of a precious stone, one that could return magic everywhere, and strangely enough, Adelaide's secret may contain the very map they need. So, they strike a deal. If Adelaide helps them find the stone, she can go free. If she fails, she'll be trapped in the Barrens forever.

The journey is made more dangerous thanks to the unflinchingly cold and upsettingly attractive leader of The Outlaws: Tristan Blackwell. But if either of them wishes to find what they've been yearning for, they'll have to strike common ground-and discover love can be found in even the most desolate of places.