A reddish-brown tom, Oakheart, is guiding two kits to the RiverClan camp.

Both kits
struggle because of the cold, snowy night. When they arrive, the kits are taken to
the nursery, where Oakheart asks a queen named Graypool to take care of them. When
Graypool asks where he found them, Oakheart responds by saying he found the kits
abandoned in the forest. Graypool is doubtful and slightly disbelieving of what he
says, but he ultimately convinces her. Once Oakheart leaves and Graypool agrees to
nurse the kits, she smells them and can identify the scent of ThunderClan, although
she doesn't believe Oakheart would steal kits from another Clan.
Fireheart still does not trust Tigerclaw, the fierce ThunderClan deputy, and
decides to uncover the truth about him. He and Graystripe visit Ravenpaw in his
barn to ask him about the battle at Sunningrocks, and Ravenpaw recounts the events
he witnessed, confirming once more that Redtail was killed by Tigerclaw, not
Oakheart. Ravenpaw tells Fireheart that when Redtail attacked Stonefur, a RiverClan
warrior, Oakheart proclaimed no ThunderClan cat would ever harm Stonefur. Redtail
then sprung on Oakheart, knocking them both off a cliff into the path of a rock
slide, which buried Oakheart alive. Ravenpaw says Redtail later emerged and ran
straight into Tigerclaw, who pounced on him and killed him. Ravenpaw says
Oakheart's death was an accident, and he was not killed by Tigerclaw as Tigerclaw
had claimed.
In order to be certain, Fireheart sneaks over to RiverClan for more answers. He
alerts Silverstream, who gets Mistyfoot, Oakheart's daughter. She confirms that
Oakheart was crushed by collapsing boulders. However, when Fireheart asks the
significance of Oakheart's words that Stonefur would not be harmed by a ThunderClan
cat, Mistyfoot is at a loss.
Thinking through what has been revealed to him, Fireheart begins to suspect
Cinderpaw's accident was the result of a trap for Bluestar set by Tigerclaw. On
another RiverClan visit, when Fireheart again questions Oakheart's words about
Stonefur, Graypool, a RiverClan queen, reveals to Fireheart that Stonefur and his
sister Mistyfoot are not her own, despite all of RiverClan believing they are.
Oakheart claimed to find the two kits in the forest, she says, and asked her to
care for them. Graypool tells Fireheart how she sniffed them and knew they were
ThunderClan kits. Graypool strictly warns Fireheart never to tell Stonefur or
Mistyfoot that she is not their true mother, as they do not know.
In the midst of continuing his investigations, Fireheart must also carry out his
warrior duties, help keep Graystripe and Silverstream's meetings a secret,
supervise Brackenpaw's training due to Graystripe's constant absence, put up with
his disobedient nephew Cloudkit, and face Tigerclaw's continuous hostility. Newleaf
soon arrives, and the snow begins to melt. The river floods, and two of Mistyfoot's
kits are swept away by the water. They are rescued by Fireheart and Graystripe, who
return them to RiverClan. The two warriors learn that RiverClan is in trouble,
having been forced to leave their camp due to the flood and having nothing to eat
since the fish are poisoned. Fireheart and Graystripe offer to hunt for RiverClan
and begin to give them prey in secret but are caught by Tigerclaw and punished by
Bluestar.
At the next Gathering, Nightstar announces that ThunderClan is sheltering
Brokentail, causing an uproar with ShadowClan and WindClan declaring war on
ThunderClan. The next day, the two Clans invade the ThunderClan camp, but they are
soon forced to retreat. Allegiances are steadily forming among the Clans, with
WindClan siding with ShadowClan and ThunderClan siding with RiverClan.
Graystripe soon finds out Silverstream will be having his kits. When the kits
arrive early, Graystripe, Fireheart, and Cinderpaw rush to her aid. Despite
Cinderpaw's determined efforts to save her, Silverstream dies while kitting. The
two kits survive and are taken in by ThunderClan. Goldenflower agrees to nurse the
kits, even though Speckletail is disgusted by the thought of the two kits and their
mixed bloodlines. Tigerclaw, who has witnessed the kitting, reveals Graystripe's
affair to ThunderClan, causing the Clan to distrust Graystripe. RiverClan demands
the kits for themselves while Bluestar is hesitant to surrender them. Bluestar
admits to Fireheart that Mistyfoot and Stonefur are her own kits and that she gave
them away to RiverClan so she could become deputy instead of Thistleclaw, an
aggressive warrior who would have led the Clan to endless bloodshed.
Cloudkit, now Cloudpaw, is apprenticed to Fireheart. They are on a hunting mission
when they notice Tigerclaw leading a band of rogues to attack ThunderClan's camp.
Fireheart runs back to the camp, but the rogues arrive before him. Most warriors
are away on patrols, leaving ThunderClan badly outnumbered. During the battle,
Tigerclaw corners Bluestar in her den and tries to kill her, but Fireheart arrives
just in time to save his leader. A RiverClan patrol arrives and helps ThunderClan
defeat the rogues. Brokentail is revealed to have been in on the ambush, having
been plotting with Tigerclaw to attack the camp with his gang of rogues. Bluestar
is deeply shocked and shaken by Tigerclaw's mutiny, although she manages to
announce his betrayal to the Clan. Fireheart reveals the events surrounding the
battle at Sunningrocks – it was Tigerclaw who killed Redtail and Oakheart's death
was an accident. He also reveals his suspicion that Cinderpaw's accident was
actually a trap set for Bluestar by Tigerclaw, and that Tigerclaw had planned the
attack to make it look like a rogue killed Bluestar, therefore becoming leader de
facto. Tigerclaw is exiled, and he swears to have revenge on ThunderClan.
Meanwhile, Yellowfang kills Brokentail by feeding him deathberries, taking away his
last life.
Bluestar announces Fireheart as the new Clan deputy, although she does this after
moonhigh, breaking the warrior code. An omen of a piece of fresh-kill turning to
crow-food makes Fireheart wonder if it means Bluestar's leadership is rotting away.
At the end of the book, Bluestar agrees to surrender Silverstream's kits. Because
he wishes to be with his kits and because he is no longer trusted by ThunderClan,
Graystripe decides to join RiverClan. Fireheart is left heartbroken as he recalls
the adventures he and Graystripe had been through together and thinks about how
lonely he will be with his best friend gone. Fireheart returns to the ThunderClan
camp as their newly appointed Clan deputy, with more responsibility that he had
ever hoped for.