From Kodansha: Ten-year-old Elin loves her brave and beautiful mother, a gifted beast doctor charged with the care of the Toda. The fearsome giant serpents that the kingdom's warriors ride into battle. Their modest but happy life together is shattered when a mysterious illness falls the entire stable of the prized serpents overnight, and Elin's mother is saddled with the blame. Before she knows it, Elin finds herself cast out from all she has ever known, alone in a faraway land, with only her mother's words and the kindness of strangers to guide her.