Three hundred years have passed since the death of the Druid Allanon, and the Four Lands are sadly changed. The Elves have vanished, and the Dwarves are enslaved. The Southland is under the totalitarian rule of the Federation, and magic is forbidden. Now the spirit of Allanon returns to the Scions of Shannara and shows them a bleak future in which the evil Shadowen have destroyed all life in the Four Lands. To prevent that, he orders the Scions to recover the long-lost Sword of Shannara, bring back the vanished Elves, and find the long-hidden Druids. But the forces of evil are already mobilizing against them . . .