"Some stories are about happy, adorable penguins who form families, learn to dance, or make friends. This is not one of those stories. All orphan Bolt Wattle has ever wanted was to find his true family. When a mysterious baron in far-off Brugaria sends for Bolt, he wonders if he's getting closer to finding his long-lost parents. But Baron Chordata appears to be a twelve-year-old boy who wears tuxedos all the time, shouts at everyone, and forbids Bolt...

After receiving a clue from Omneseus the Seer, twelve-year-old werepenguin Bolt and his friends Blackburn and Annika set off to defeat "the Stranger" and free the world's penguins from his reign.