Frank has only been at Camp Jupiter for six weeks. His only friend is Hazel, and he worries she won’t want to be his friend if she learns the truth about him. There is a piece of firewood that Frank carries that his life is dependent upon. Frank was shocked when Juno appeared in the camp because she is the one who told his grandmother and mother that he would die when the firewood burned completely.

Frank is also hiding the two vials he took from the Little Tiber after the gorgons disappeared. They hold gorgon blood. One contains healing blood from the right side of a gorgon body, and one contains poisoned blood from the left side. He does not know what he will do with it but plans to hide it until he does. Percy and a house ghost are the only ones who know about the vials.

Frank’s mother was a soldier in Afghanistan when she died saving her fellow soldiers. On the day of the funeral, Frank’s grandmother told him about the piece of firewood and Juno’s visit informing them of it. She also tells him he has a long family history among the gods, both Roman and Greek.