As the south is in turmoil an old terror emerges in the north Maniye child of both Wolf & Tiger clans has been named Champion of her people But they're unsure if she's an asset
- or a threat To buy time she joins Prince Tecuman's warband of outcasts & heads south to help him gain his crown She wants to discover her true place in the world but instead heads into the jaws of a fierce new conflict Civil war threatens as Tecuman & his twin sister battle for the throne for only one can rule Yet whoever triumphs will carry a heavy burden as a great doom has been foreseen that will fall across their whole world & soon Maniye finds herself at the heart of a political storm Danger is also shadowing her old home where Lord Thunder & his bear clan are attempting to unite the northern tribes But only extreme peril will end age-old rivalries An adversary from the most ancient of times is preparing to strike putting their lands & their very souls in danger & neither north nor south will be spared the terror to come The Bear & the Serpent is the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic fantasy series Echoes of the Fall following The Tiger & the Wolf