Sammy is keen to return to Dragamas for his second year. There are new lessons, new teachers and new skills to be learnt. His dragon, Kyrillan, has grown and needs descaling, a messy but necessary task in the Dragon Studies lessons under the supervision of the gaunt and ghost-like Dr Shivers. The school trip takes the students to the Land of the Pharaohs, a desert theme park setting where Sammy, Dixie and Darius meet strange new people who share stories of Dragamas history. Sammy learns his parents once knew about dragons but cannot see them any more. He is determined to find out why. He learns about the Stone Cross where all dragons are buried when they die and why the Stone Cross is so important to the Shape.