- Among the barons is a suspenseful, thrilling novel, the 4th in the Shadow children series. In the novel Luke garner (the protagonist) is living his new life as lee grant (a fake identity he was given in order to survive as an illegal 3rd child). he is adjusting to his new life at the Hendricks school for boys. the grants, one of the richest and most powerful families in the country, gave luke their son's identity, when there real son died during illegal activity.
- as the novel progresses, the grants (the antagonists in the novel) bring luke to live with them. they are motivated by greed and selfish reasons. they are afraid that their youngest son smits will expose the truth about the real lee grants death so they now want to fake "lee's" death and send luke back into hiding.
- throughout the novel luke is motivated by first, staying alive, trying to sort out the various evil plots, and most importantly by his overwhelming mission to free 3rd children and overthrow the evil government.
- the climax of the story is when Mr. and Mrs. grant are accidentally killed by a falling chandler.
- swbs- the grants wanted to stage "lee's" (luke's) death so that the real lee's death can remain a secret. the real lee grant was killed on a mission to help overthrow the evil government. But, as it turned out, mr. and mrs. grant ended up getting killed. So luke can now maintain his identity as lee grant and can continue on his mission to free all 3rd children!