Living in an orphanage along with Billy Cain is hard and nobody knows it better than Johnny Woods. Always kicked and pushed around, Johnny thinks that his life will never change until Miss Shelly, the owner of the orphanage arrives in the dead of the night with a total stranger and reveals a few astounding facts. First, that magic is something that exists. Second, children are taught magic in a place called as The Clans in a weird country called Exalonto; and third, somehow, incredibly Johnny's name has came out in the list of beginners who are to be admitted in The Clans this year...