Keladry must struggle to prove herself worthy to palace training master Wyldon of Cavall and her fellow page trainees.

In this book, Keladry of Mindelan, known as Kel, faces a tough year ahead to become a page when Lord Wyldon has put her on probation.

While the laws of Tortall may have been changed to favour gender equality, the reality of entering into a traditionally male domain presents many hurdles to the protagonist.

She is forced to deal with hazing from her all-male peers, including derogatory writing on her walls, the destruction of her belongings, and discrimination from the training master.

When Kel is getting ready for her first day of training, she receives an unexpected new gift: an incredibly high quality dagger and a whetstone for sharpening.

After realizing that Joren of Stone Mountain and his friends were bullying first year pages, she defied tradition and started patrolling the halls.