The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Sutherland, Tui, Wings of Fire Book 12: The Hive Queen. Scholastic Press, New York, NY, 2019. Kindle AZW file.

Cricket is a HiveWing dragon who lives in Pantala, a continent inhabited by three dragon tribes – the HiveWings, SilkWings, and LeafWings. After a recent war, Queen Wasp is the ruler of the HiveWings and SilkWings. The SilkWings are treated as second-class citizens with few rights, and the LeafWings who survived are outcasts. Relationships among tribes are forbidden, but Cricket fell in love with a SilkWing named Blue from the moment they met, and he returns her love.

Cricket grew up craving the love of her indifferent parents. She was devoted to Katydid, the dragon she believes to be her sister. Cricket has always been different because she seems to be the only HiveWing who is immune to the mind control exerted by Queen Wasp. The HiveWings are subjected to Queen Wasp's control whenever she chooses. Some have become accustomed to this life. They no longer question the need to blindly obey.

Cricket has become friends with Blue, a LeafWing named Sundew, and two other SilkWings named Swordtail and Luna. Her friendships have opened her eyes to truths about the other tribes and to hard evidence that Queen Wasp has been lying about having a natural ability to control minds. Cricket and her friends discover she is using toxin from a specific plant that she injects into the dragon eggs before they hatch, making those dragonets susceptible to her will. She is sometimes able to control older dragons as well. She is threatening to take away Cricket's free will. Cricket, Blue, Sundew, and Swordtail hope to avert another civil war by releasing the HiveWings from this control, but the LeafWings attack before Cricket's group has all the answers. They do manage to kill all the plants in Queen Wasp's greenhouse, though they save a few plants in the hope of making an antidote.

Meanwhile, Cricket is facing some difficult truths about herself. Her beloved sister Katydid is actually her mother. Katydid had slipped Cricket's egg into the Nest late, which is how she escaped Queen Wasp's mind control. Cricket receives information and help from two of the Hive rulers, Lady Scarab and Lady Jewel. She saves one egg from Queen Wasp's mind-control injection.

While Cricket's group is working on the situation, Luna is on another continent in this world, Pyrrhia. Luna was swept out to sea and is hoping the dragons of Pyrrhia will help the dragons of Pantala. Two SeaWing dragons, Tsunami and Turtle, make the long swim to Pantala where they encounter a LeafWing ruler named Willow. Back on Pyrrhia, a NightWing named Moon has a vision of dragons invading Pyrrhia.