Theus is sold into servanthood by his poverty-stricken family and taken by his kindly master on a journey across a continent, following the course of the Landwide River.
From there, he begins to learn the secrets of the memory stones, the extraordinary objects that can store information for people.
As Theus learns more about the world beyond his family's farm, learning to handle weapons and combatting the turbulent world around him, he discovers that the beautiful daughter of a high noble family, Coriae, is far beyond a commoner's reach - but he can dream.
Evil powers brewing in far-off places are spreading chaos across the world, and Theus becomes snared in troubles that seem to have nothing to do with him, until he finds that he has fallen into the center of the evil.Desperate to escape, Theus struggles to overcome the battles he's faced with. He almost seems to be back on track towards the success he has envisioned for himself. But evil is not ready to let him go so easily.