The story takes place in the community of the Ancient and Honourable Odd Feathers (Birds other than Cormorants) and Tree Nesters, (Cormorants) Tararu Chapter. Many years ago the community was set up and run on the principles of The Peaceful Village, a lifestyle which was introduced by the ancient philosopher Pied Shagarus. Things go smoothly until some riff-raff moves in to the community. They start encouraging the adolescent birds to rebel against their individual familys traditions. Guano creates problems for the community, and the Elders, who form the governing body for the community, come up with a unique way of atoning for the damage caused by their enormous guano deposits. They decide to hold an Open Day at the river mouth. The open day is named Shag-Nani-Gans Day. The Elders arrange for a bouncy fishing net for the unfledged chicks which is a huge success, together with some other entertainment which is also enjoyed by all. The idea is to donate the profits from Shag-Nani-Gans Day to the Thames Coast Road Beautification Society. The last item on the official programme is a Fly Past by the Pied Pilots, a team of talented juveniles with the idea being to showcase their skills as Pilots. However, the Pied Pilots have other ideas. Suffice to say the residents at Tararu are extremely embarrassed by this shocking display. At the meeting of Feathered Families Without Fuss, following the disgraceful display, the troublesome nature of the juvenile birds is the topic of the day. It is plain to see that Something Must Be Done. The Chairperson of the Month is instructed to write to the Elders and ask for help with this vexing problem. The Elders, in turn, write to their friend and Peacekeeper, Trafalgar Tross, asking him to help them with this growing problem. Trafalgar visits his friend Aldersmith Albatross to see if he can help out with a solution. Aldersmith agrees to help out but despite his best efforts he just cant communicate with the juveniles. The Generation Gap is there for all to see and anarchy rears its ugly head. The Pied Pilots stage a walk out, and they refuse to have anything more to do with Aldersmith. How do the residents respond to this, bearing in mind they have sworn to uphold the teachings of Pied Shagarus? Aldersmiths health suffers badly after being rejected by the Pied Pilots. He gets Bone shatter, which is very similar to arthritis and is treated in much the same way. When the tide recedes each day, it leaves some large pools of seawater which become deliciously warm from the sun. These pools give a great deal of relief to sufferers of Boneshatter and similar complaints. Whilst in the pools there is a terrible mid-air collision between Sirpee and one of the Pied Pilots. Sirpee, who is rendered senseless, wakes up to find himself cuddled up in Aldersmiths lap. Sirpee was hoping to bang into Aldersmith as Sirpee was aware that Aldersmith has a great deal of knowledge about flying, however Sirpee is extremely embarrassed that it is in this way. When Sirpee recovers from his very bruised ego, he asks Aldersmith if he would like to join in and launch The Pied in the Sky Flying Academy (The P. I. T. S) with him. From there the plot thickens. The P. I. T. S Academy is opened and all goes well until Fly Out Day. The great Aldersmith is missing. Where is he? And who are those dreadful Pirate Birds on board The Jolly Scoundrel. Do they have anything to do with Aldersmiths disappearance? Packer the Hacker and his gang of Black Shags have a part to play in all this. But can they be trusted? There is only one way to find out. Read the story and be enlightened! Welcome to Tararu, where the fun starts.
