When student wizard Phadrig tries his best to master his magical talents, he finds his best doesn't make for a very good wizard. When he tries his hand at tracking down a lost pet or a missing person, he finds he may just have some talent after all. The City Watch finds themselves faced with a mysterious string of crimes in the kingdom's capital city. Drawn into consulting on cases along with his new assistant, Phadrig finds that the Watch's new way of dealing with crime may have uncovered a threat to the very foundation of the kingdom itself. It may be that the kingdom's best hope is a very bad wizard.