John Robert is to become an apprentice, but why must he be apprenticed to a stranger? What trade will he learn? And why is he being taken so far from home? Leaving home in the company of his uncles, on his faithful pony, Annie, he journeys to meet Sir Henry, the man who soon will become his master. But Sir Henry is nothing like what John Robert had imagined him to be and has many secrets. When an urgent request for help comes from the Lady Mariana of Gilgamar, the Seventh City, the pair sets out on an adventure to try and free her from the grasp of the scheming Governor of Gilgamar. Along the way, John Robert learns much about himself and the strange connection his new master has with his family.