Even though Prince Bayar of Nieman loves researching history and the Old Magic, a quest to find the legendary parchment thief is not on his list of things to do...

The parchment thief has been stealing books and scrolls all over Nieman, but when he manages to enter the Royal Library, the Khan's patience runs out. He decides it is time for a change of tactics and puts his youngest son, Bayar, in charge of solving the mystery of the thief's identity. Bayar is as surprised about this as about the fact he is going to have a guardian-the ruggedly attractive Chinux.

Chinux is a bounty hunter of some renown and very much his own man. He relishes the challenge of finding the parchment thief and bringing him to justice, even if he has to 'babysit' the youngest prince in the process. When Bayar and Chinux discover the thief's identity, they are shocked.

Will the quest to find and bring him to justice tear them apart or bring them closer together?