In this companion to The Goose Girl, we once again enter the kingdom of Bayern, but this time through the eyes of Enna, once an animal laborer with the now Princess Isi. No longer a worker for the castle, Enna had returned home to her mother, who was ailing, but has now passed on, leaving on Enna and her brother. Life in the forest now seems to Enna too quiet, and she longs for something else, though she doesn't know what. Then one night her brother returns home changed, and his behavior becomes more and more erratic. Somewhere in his travels he has stumbled across a paper that taught him to create fire, and the knew knowledge has left him restless and angry. With nowhere to displace his feelings, he grows a hatred for his own country, going so far as to burn Enna for trying to dissuade him. But then news comes of impending war, and suddenly there is a new focus for the anger, as the children head off to the city.

In the first battle with neighboring Tira, Enna loses her brother to his fire, which he uses to destroy as many of the enemy as they can. Feeling she has failed him, she retrieves the vellum that gave him his skill from his body, before leaving it with the others to burn, and vows to somehow make up for her failure. Soon she too has read the fiery words and harnessed the skill to create flame, control heat, and every day she is conscious of the fact the she must not lose herself to this mysterious gift, as Leifer did.

But as war grows more imminent, Enna feels the same restlessness, and powerlessness, and will not stand by to see her country fall. When her best friend Finn joins in the augury to decide Bayern's fate, Enna intercedes to keep him from being slayed, and therefore feels a responsibility to be part of the war. So while a truce has been declared for the winter months, she sneaks off in the night to wage her own battles, eventually falling into the hands of an enemy captain, who almost succeeds in turning her against her own.

The fortuitous arrival of a friend she thought lost turns Enna's course, she breaks free, saves her friends, wins the war, and nearly loses herself in the process. Through great struggle and pain, and with the aid of strong relationships, Enna finds herself, finds her way, and finds a way to heal, while also healing her dear Isi. While the men of Tira view the women of Bayern weak, the stories of The Goose Girl and Enna Burning tell us differently, for these are amazing girls indeed.