Long ago, the duck Plato made a promise to his dying father. Now a wise old duck at the twilight of his life, Plato is haunted by his failure to keep his word and is determined to right the wrong before its too late. Injustice exists in the woodlot where Plato lives. As resentment builds among the crows confined to a pine grove in decline, it appears that a war among all the birds is imminent. Antus, a renegade crow, is determined to destroy the fragile peace, with the hopes of capitalizing on the resulting hostilities. Meanwhile, a young duck named Hardy becomes friends with two crows, Nestor and Justine; the small group joins forces with Plato in an attempt to prevent a tragic conflict. As Antus raids the woodlot and leads the birds closer to war, the young birds must overcome the prejudices of their elders. All the while, Plato worries there will be endless suffering if he is not able to fulfill his pledge to his father. Plato and his friends fear their idyllic life in the woodlot may be destroyed, and they will stop at nothing to resolve the injustice and establish an honorable society.