Esmerelda is only a fledgling wizard who has recently escaped from a dismal existence in a desolate, forsaken, and lonely corner of the kingdom. In the process, she has gained the company of some new friends, but with that freedom, she has also inherited several gut-wrenching challenges demanding her devotion.

First, she has been reunited with a sister whom she long thought was dead. Unfortunately, it has not been a happy reunion because her sister has turned demonic and is now imprisoned within a magical rod. She contemplates rescuing her sister from her horrible fate, but she has only rudimentary wizardly skills to work with.

In the course of her sister's imprisonment, a young gypsy bard has been magically released from his imprisonment and claims the rod. He has a most wondrous tale to tell of shadowy intrigue involving a terrible, mystical, shape-shifting creature called a doppelganger. He also claims to have consorted with some magical, fun-loving blue giants and to have narrowly escaped a fire-breathing dragon. On top of that, he claims to have been tragically parted from his family and requests aid to help him reunite with them.