Cal Garrick, a simple stableboy, dreams of a life beyond his idyllic village – one of adventure and renown. His world is soon turned upside down when his life is saved by a mysterious stranger belonging to an old order of peacekeepers who fell from grace a decade ago. Now, Cal must help this disgraced warrior in his quest to uncover the truth about the destruction of the Order of Wardens.

In his 1964 CBC Massey Lectures C. B. Macpherson examines the rival ideas of democracy - the communist, Third World, and Western-liberal variants - and their impact on one another. He suggests that the West need not fear any challenge to liberal democracy if it is prepared to re-examine and alter its own values.