Warrior's Return picks up from the previous volume, with Graystripe and Millie just having found the ruined ThunderClan camp. The duo leave it behind and find Ravenpaw (a former Clan cat) and Barley, loners introduced earlier in the series. Ravenpaw and Barley help them continue their quest to find the Clans before returning to their barn. Graystripe and Millie plan to go to the sun-drown-place (sea), which was where Ravenpaw told them the Clans had planned to go.
On their travels, a fight emerges between Graystripe and Millie about how much help they can accept from Twolegs. At a gas station, Graystripe is hit by a car, and is nursed back to health by Millie and Diesel, a loner who lives by the gas station. As Graystripe recovers, he tries to confess that he is sorry to Millie, though Diesel gets in the way. Millie tells Graystripe that the fastest way of getting to the ocean is by a truck, which forces him to make a choice. The duo decide to use the truck to get to the Clans. The volume concludes with Graystripe and Millie finding the Clans and Graystripe apologizing to Millie and also asking her to be his new mate. When Graystripe and Millie see the Clans in the middle of a Gathering, Firestar welcomes Graystripe and Graystripe introduces Millie.