The novel tells the story of a girl named Cassandra. She was found before the porch of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson’s house with a strange medallion on her neck. A barren couple who already adopted a boy named Alistair. Cassandra who never separates from her medallion grows up with love and security.
A few months ago, the Peterson couple dies in a car crash leaving their kids in the care of Oliver, their uncle. Oliver, unfortunately, is unable to look after them and drives them to a creepy boarding school outside of London where they remained there for a few weeks. They fled the school with their new companions: Lee Yung, a friendly Chinese boy, and a dwarf named Professor Khan.
They travelled aboard the professor’s airship but the flying machine crashes near a medieval castle. Safe and sound but starved, they search for food in the castle but to their surprise, they witness a bizarre ceremony of witches and wizards who happened to be victims of an evil man’s whim called the grand master. A battle occurs between the great master’s soldiers and Songhai, a slanted eyes man endowed with astonishing fighting powers. The man travelled with his dragon, Orbit. They flee the castle and travel to the kingdom of Pandasia, a magic kingdom. Later, Cassandra learns that she’s the daughter of Shana, the leader of the Pandasi female warriors who passed away due to a curse.
Now that she is fourteen, Cassandra must take the helm of her mother and becomes in turn leader of the female warriors. During a ceremony in the sacred mountain’s cave, she’s transformed into a Pandasi female warrior.
A few days later, the king of Pandasia, Mokwai is poisoned with a very powerful poison but his close adviser is accused and put in jail. A dangerous mission is now entrusted to Cassandra which is to search for an antidote in the deepest region of the kingdom to save the king. She wins the contest which allows her to search for the antidote.
Songhai, then consults the oracle who announces to him that the antidote is inside the four sacred animals and symbols of the powerful kingdom of Pandasia. Those creatures, “The black tortoise, the vermillion bird, the azure dragon, and the white tiger;” are under the strict protection of the most dangerous tribes of the kingdom. A mysterious old man dressed in a black cloak sent by the great master tries to prevent them from reaching their goal but without success. The king is saved and the story ends with joy.