Thomas Painter lives in a land where your name is your life. His father was a genius with a paintbrush, and everyone expects Thomas to be the same. But Thomas stinks at painting. His talent is carving; his genius flows through a knife. Now, with both parents gone and presumed dead, Thomas is still trapped in his father's shadow. Secretly, he has taken the name Carver, but he's not permitted to follow that path. Until a magic wand, dropped by a bemagicked raven girl, falls into his hands, revealing an unforseen raw talent and sending him down an unexpected path.

Accompanied by the raven girl, Carver sets off in search of a mage who can train him to use the wand. They befriend Fireboy, who helps them escape on his steamboat from a cruel baron. They become outcasts in a city of filthy canals and spewing workhouses, where mages are hunted and magic won't work. Finally, lured by one of his own father's paintings, Carver and his companions are trapped at the magic apparatus of the great mage Krimm. There, Carver must confront the images of his missing parents in order to overcome the enchantments of the mage, save his friends, and choose his own path.