Halitor has failed at every apprenticeship his parents can imagine. He figures it's his last chance when they foist him on Bovrell the Bold as an apprentice Hero, and he eagerly studies the Hero's Guide to Battles, Rescues, and the Slaying of Monsters. But Halitor infuriates his master when he drops his sword and gets rattled around Fair Maidens. When his master abandons him at an inn in Loria, Halitor is ready to give up and just be a kitchen boy. But Melly, the young kitchen wench, has other ideas. She wants to go find her father, and soon the two are battling monsters and worse on a wild journey to her home. Before they are done, Halitor has learned more than just how to be a Hero.