The vicious Water Sprite War has ended, and the Forest Elves have returned home. Drisandel, who led the Forest Elves in the war, succeeds his deceased father as village Chieftain.

Garnidel, Drisandel's son and talented apprentice smith to his mother, Shaelesse, begins to prepare as the heir to his father as Chieftain by travelling through the Forest Elf Nation, learning of its history and the legends of so-called "Fire Sprites, " and searching for a potential wife (even as he staves off feelings for the betrothed of a beloved friend). He also encounters the enigmatic Desert Elves, neighbours of the Forest Elves who were once a unified people with them.

Garnidel's education is cut shorter than expected when Humans bearing arms suddenly begin encroaching into the territory of the Forest Elves. As the battle to defend the Forest Elf territory begins, Garnidel now must quickly grow into his role as a battlefield leader and develop a plan to stave off the superior numbers of the Human invasion. Can the new weapons and tools he developed in the forge allow the Forest Elves some advantage? And can the Forest Elves count the Desert Elves as allies?

The Grand Chieftain is the continuation of the fantasy epic begun in Willow: Awakened, Ascended, Avenged, and volume 2 of the Willow's Wake trilogy. With thrilling battles and the exploration of fascinating new frontiers in an already rich fantasy world, The Grand Chieftain will captivate fans of the series, readers just journeying into it, and lovers of fantasy new and old.