Aurius needs a hero. What it gets is Jacob Marshall.

Jacob is an unpopular, out-of-shape high school student who's never handled anything more dangerous than the senior football team. When he enters Aurius, however, he's ecstatic, because he knows this world intimately, and an escape from reality is all he ever wanted.

Yet, he soon discovers that this world is far more real than anything he left behind. Fighting for his life becomes the least of his concerns as he struggles with being a foreigner in a strange land. Knowing what will happen only makes him the target of suspicion, and trying to prevent tragedies only he knows are coming is a heavy burden to bear.

But none of it compares to the most important lesson he must learn: that being a hero means more than just learning how to do battle with a sword. Jacob's greatest challenge may be facing himself.