The wizard Herloff has been commissioned to bring justice to his his late master who has been murdered by a renegade witch. With him is his errant apprentice, a freshly appointed wizard and then Blackblade - someone who knows how to use a sword. Along the way they attract a gathering of unlikely heroes, each with reasons of their own for wanting the success or failure of the mission. As the company endure many confrontations and terrors, little does Herloff realise the future of the kingdom hangs in the balance according to their personal agendas.