In this first book of an epic middle grade series, Katherine Applegate takes us on an unforgettable journey. A New York Times bestseller from the beloved author of the action packed Animorphs series and the award-winning The One and Only Ivan. Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war torn kingdom of Nedarra. After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling. So Byx sets out to find safe haven, and to see if the legends of other hidden dairnes are true. —----- Byx is an endling, the last of the dairne species, animals who are doglike, but who walk on two legs, talk, and can sense whether someone's lying. After Byx's family and packmates are slaughtered by humans, she's captured by a young female human, Khara, who brings her to an island of scholars in hopes that Byx will be protected. But when they arrive, they find the town planning a "eumony," a funeral for the species, and realize the humans they thought were allies may not be trustworthy. Byx and Khara are joined by two other fantastic animals, a small, chatty, loyal wobbyk, and a fierce feline from the species felivet, whose numbers are also dwindling. Will the friends escape the humans who want to kill them? Are there more dairnes still living on a faraway sentient island, as is rumored? The friends quest to find out as they battle for survival.