Nelson Chilwell is fascinated, nay mesmerized, by the days of old when Ladies were Ladies and Men were Knights and Noble. As he and his father read his favorite book together, smoke fills the room. Winston Chilwell runs outside with his son over his shoulder. Winston races back into the house but Nelson's mother is not to be found. The picture in the book of the Gatekeeper's Daughter is singed but saved as firefighters douse the house. Soon an unusual new teacher arrives at Hickory Bottom Middle School. This chain of events causes Nelson's life to change forever as he is drawn into another world - a world he only knows through books.