 Years after the siege of Redwall Abbey by Cluny the Scourge, Matthais and Cornflower have a hotheaded son named Mattimeo who dreams of succeeding his father as the Defender of the Abbey. Unknown to them, a malevolent fox called Slagar the Cruel is plotting a terrible revenge on Redwall. With his gang posing as entertainers, he renders the population of Redwall unconscious and kidnaps nearly all the children, including Mattimeo, to become slaves. When the adults of Redwall awaken, Matthais and his friends must undertake the despairingly difficult search for their children which will take all the skill, luck and allies they can muster. Meanwhile, Mattimeo and his comrades in chains must call upon inner resources they barely know they have in order to escape and otherwise frustrate the diabolical schemes of Slagar.