Justin Greene and his friends are dealing with bullies at basketball camp. He, Matt and Ernie have very different ideas about how to handle the situation, but Ernie's is the craziest. He suggests that Justin read some ancient-looking book. When Justin tries it he enters a parallel adventure in the land of Signum where the stakes are raised from name calling and black eyes to life and death. There he battles evil in the form of Lord Roth. Magical forces including charmed armor, an encounter with a constellation, and enchanted dreams bring him to new realizations about anger, judgment, cruelty and mercy. When he returns from his adventure he finds he is ready to deal with his problem in a way he wouldn't have thought possible.