Six years after the end of the Great War, schoolmaster Rhissan Griffith believes himself just another young man struggling to find success at a private school in rural England. An idle wish for a little magic in the midst of his frustrating, unfulfilling life catapults Rhiss into a situation that winds up being far more than he ever imagined possible... or desirable. After school one dismal and rainy afternoon, an extraordinary door to perilous adventure unexpectedly opens in his life. It promises to thrust Rhiss into unimaginable realms of wonder and terror, encounters with beings fantastical and mythological, and answers to questions regarding a past - and a future - he has never before even contemplated. Leaving his old life behind, Rhiss accepts the challenge and walks unsuspectingly into a desperate and deadly conflict that shakes his faith and everything he ever knew or believed about himself. But how could an ordinary man help to shape the course of a world locked in battle against an ancient evil?