The Dark Lord Sauron, an utterly evil and powerful being, is stirring again after a long period of dormancy. He will soon dominate all of Middle-earth if he is not stopped. The key to Sauron's defeat is Frodo, nephew and heir to Bilbo Baggins--he has the One Ring into which Sauron deposited much of his power. If the Ring is destroyed in the volcano at the heart of Sauron's realm of Mordor, Sauron too will be destroyed.

The standard hardcover edition of the second volume of The Lord of the Rings includes a large format fold-out map. Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force....

Presents the epic depicting the Great War of the Ring, a struggle between good and evil in Middle-earth, following the odyssey of Frodo the hobbit and his companions on a quest to destroy the Ring of Power.

"As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, has joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and takes part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated...

Frodo is led to Orthanc, the citadel of Saruman, and the fortress of Minas Morgul that guards the secret entrance to Mordor. All the while, the Great Darkness draws in.