Prince Jorg, eldest living son of King Olidan of Ancrath, is a violent teenager with an unquenchable thirst for power and vengeance. At only 14 years of age, he is a hardened brigand, tall and muscular for his age despite his still youthful facial features.

Thrown onto a bramble of hook-briars and left for dead by his uncle’s assassins at the age of 10, Jorg is transformed by his near-death experience, stripped of any sense of remorse or pity. Olidan’s decision to accept compensation from his brother, Count Renar, instead of seeking revenge enrages Jorg, so Jorg escapes onto the road. Jorg immediately sets out to kill his uncle but is intercepted by Corion, a powerful sorcerer serving at Renar’s court. Corion enchants Jorg and, rather than trying to kill Renar, Jorg spends the next four years on the road, raping and pillaging.

A chance encounter with Father Gomst, his father’s old priest, prompts Jorg to return home to the Tall Castle, where his father sends him to capture the Castle Red. Thanks to the education of his tutor, Lundist, one of only a few people for whom Jorg seems to feel some affection, Jorg is able to locate an ancient cache of nuclear weapons in the depths of the castle and annihilate the fortress from below.