It was definite — Dumery had no magical talent at all. He could never fulfill his dream to become a wizard's apprentice. Hurt, angry, and mortally disappointed, he despaired of ever choosing a trade. But then Dumery spied a so-called great wizard humbling himself before a man selling dragon's blood — the precious stuff that made difficult spells work. If Dumery couldn't be a wizard, maybe he could become a dragon-hunter and have all those scornful wizards crawling to him. So, leaving his family, city, and comfortable home, Dumery began trailing Kensher, the man in brown — even though Kensher said he didn't need a dragon-hunting apprentice. But when Dumery finally caught up with Kensher, he would discover Kensher's great secret of how the precious fluid was obtained — a secret from which only Kensher's kin could profit. Once again, Dumery would be left without career or future. Unless . . .