Elaine "The Mink" LaCroix has just cat-burglared into a temple in Japan and reaches for the Eye of Buddha - a blazing green emerald as big as a man's fist - when she slumps to the ground. A white bony hand strips the glowing silver ring from her finger. Half a world away, Merlin opens his eyes and whispers, "It is not to be, little Mink," then drifts to the sleep of the enchanted.

The year is now, and the only ones standing between light and darkness are four unlikely teenagers and an Oxford professor. The defeat of the Dark Powers depends on their locating the legendary wizard, Merlin, and finishing a quest begun by their Camelot forefathers...all over the course of a one-week Spring Break.

Lucas Moreno lives in Texas, and he is joined by the others -- from Morocco, Japan and Ireland. They share only two things: the inheritance of medieval rings forged by Merlin, and the murders of their fathers. The rings set the Crusaders on a path where they must battle human monsters and fantastical creatures to save the world and each other. It could be right out of one of Lucas's video games. Only this one's for real.