Theus is sold into servanthood by his poverty-stricken family, and taken by his kindly master on a journey across a continent, following the course of the Landwide River. He learns a great many things that he has never known or dreamed about the world beyond his family's small farm. He begins to learn the secrets of the memory stones, the extraordinary objects that can store information for people. He learns to handle weapons, and puts his knowledge to use in the turbulent world he experiences. And he learns that even though a beautiful young daughter of a high noble family is beyond a commoner's reach, he can dream about breaking through that social barrier!This is the first book in the four volume Memory Stones series