Mathen is a successful businessman thanks in no small part to a magical crest he wears around his neck that gives him glimpses into the future. His life is turned upside down when one of these glimpses shows him someone destined to become the worst and most evil tyrant the world will ever know, and shows him this person in the form of a small 8-year-old boy who just attempted to pick his pocket.
Now Mathen must face the most difficult decisions of his life. Decisions that hold the life of millions of people and the very world itself in the balance. As he makes his choices he must deal with slave traders, magical beings and a living forest that all seem to have their own interest in the boy.