The book opens with the sisters awed by the procession arriving at the palace from the Indian Ocean. The visitor is Nefazia, an old friend of Triton's from his youth. He lived with her family for two years while studying. Nefazia is gracious, charming, adventurous, and tells amusing stories about young Triton. The mersisters are all smitten...except Aquata.
Aquata does not show her best colors in this book. She feels her position as intended ruler of the kingdom is threatened by Nefazia, because she thinks Nefazia and Triton will marry. She manipulates the other sisters into going along with a series of stupid pranks designed to drive Nefazia away. Ariel agrees because she's afraid a stepmother will restrict her freedom. And she overhears Nefazia and Triton discussing how "all this will change" which backs up her fears.
After a couple failed pranks, Ariel happens to follow Nefazia to the surface, where she lures a ship toward her, then sends it away, telling it that mermaids are only a dream. Nefazia shares Ariel's interest with the human world and Ariel boldly shows her the grotto where she keeps her human treasures. Ariel and Nefazia form a strong bond and she sticks up for Nefazia when her sisters want to keep plotting. Attina and Alana lean toward siding with Ariel, while Arista and Adella are still on Aquata's side.
The newest plot is fake letters. Andrina slides to Ariel's side, but even though they agree, the sisters on her side still won't tell Ariel what the plot is. Aquata has written a letter to Nefazia, notifying her that her sister is sick, so Nefazia rushes to leave on her own, leaving a note for Triton to tell her staff to follow. Aquata destroys Nefazia's real note to Triton, leaving a nasty one in its place. This time Andrina seems more on Aquata's side, while it's Adella who's wavering. Aquata and Arista continue to be complete bitches. Like they really do not look good here at all. Very selfish and cruel. And it only gets worse, because Sebastian appears, saying that Triton just sent word that a pod of killer whales is nearby and everyone must stay in the palace, as killer whales eat merpeople.
The seven sisters race after Nefazia with Sebastian poking along behind. Aquata confesses to writing the letter and the whales pass above them, so Nefazia directs them to lie still and be silent. They almost make it until idiot Arista says something loudly. Then one whale comes down to check them out and they flee. Nefazia distracts the whale from Arista and Adella, who are lagging, and Ariel goes to help her. Nefazia makes a conch shell into a horn, as she did in an old story she told the girls at dinner her first night, but she's hurt before she can use it. Ariel saves the day by blowing into the shell and making the whale think its pod is calling it.
The plan comes out and Nefazia says she and Triton think of each other as siblings, not romantically at all. Triton arrives then, angry everyone is out of the palace and in danger. Nefazia covers for the girls. Triton says her packages from the Indian Ocean have arrived and the girls head home to see the real reason Nefazia is visiting. Triton asked for her help in redecorating the sisters' rooms to reflect their increasing maturity. (Ha. Not so mature at all.) Nefazia has Ariel's room redone with an abstract mural of the sunset over the ocean's surface and a small wishing star in the corner. Ariel ends the book by saying she wants to grow up to be like Nefazia.
I do like this book because of the character of Nefazia. She's fantastic. But it took a while for me to like Arista and Aquata after this. Aquata's childish, stubborn insecurity and Arista's cruelty and stupidity are hard to forgive.
Sister Facts:
Aquata once again named eldest.
Arista loves sea horses.
Adella's interest in fashion mentioned again.
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