In a magical land, Greyson Oberon, son of King Magus, accepts a royal charter. He is to find and return to the castle a mystical object called The Symphony Stone. This same charter was handed to his dimly remembered older brother years ago. Castor Oberon never returned from the dark land in which the object was hidden, a land where magic cannot function as its people have allowed fear and distrust to outweigh faith and hope.  With his trusty dog Elric, he travels to this strange place called New York where he is told, his magic will only work on him and his dog.

There he finds Gail, a young woman who has an uncanny relationship with his dog and whom Grey instinctively senses he can trust. She steps in as an ally to help him and the dog navigate this strange city and to support the quest. Telling her boss why she needs time off, though, she is surprised when he produces from his office vault the Symphony Stone and tells her to see her friend off safely. (WHAT?  THAT’S MUCH TOO EARLY! THAT’S NOT HOW THESE STORIES ARE USUALLY STRUCTURED!)

She brings the stone back to Greyson who, delighted, begins to work the spell that will take him home. But it doesn’t work.  The magic doesn’t work here.  He has been sent to a place where the skills he learned will not serve him, where the magic that will allow him to return will not function. Greyson realizes that his father has betrayed him.

Seeking insight and advice from his dog, Greyson transforms Elric into a human (naked and running in happy circles) for a few minutes and while he learns a little bit about the dog’s history, he gains no information about how to get home.

Seeking out Gail’s boss, hoping he might know something of the origins of the Symphony Stone, Grey realizes that the man is his long-missing brother, also sent here and abandoned. Bitter, Castor has built a business and made a life here.

Together they find a way home, bringing Gail with them. Once there, though, their father imprisons them as a threat to the throne. The paranoia that comes with power is strong.

Gail, Grey and Castor, in a swashbuckling battle, escape the Impossible Tower and fight their way to a confrontation with Magus who, when the chips are down, admits that all the abandonment was simply a way to protect himself from his overzealous inner guard who see all princes as a threat to the King. Magus gives up his throne to the older son.

Grey, now a princely danger to his brother, returns with Elric and the woman to New York by choice, to further his relationship with Gail and to help restore some touch of magic to a world that desperately needs it.