"In order to gain wisdom, you must learn to read inter linea, between the lines."

Artos doesn't know who his parents are, just that kindly Sir Ector and Lady Marion took him into their castle when he was a baby. Though Sir Ector raises him as one of his sons, Artos never feels he truly belongs. The other boys of the castle -- Cai, Bedvere, and Lancot -- make fun of him and never invite him to join in their games.

One day, while searching for Sir Ector's missing brachet hound in the fens around the castle, Artos stumbles across a musty cave in a hill where a very old dragon lives. Though he is afraid, he is drawn to the beast by both the dragon's knowledge and his promise to teach Artos the game of wisdom. With the dragon's guidance, Artos begins the slow journey to his destiny-one that he never dreamed could belong to him.