Princess Carmeana — beautiful, red-haired, and notable for her dimensions — has been kidnapped and held for ransom. The king of Bowtudgel, calculating the cost of deploying an actual army against the savings of recruiting an individual with fairy connections, chooses the latter. In the Flyover Province of Borrington, a farm boy named Kai (pronounced Lance) is returning from morning work when he encounters a fairy called Tabitha, currently being sold against her will to cover a Facebook IPO investment. He frees her. She decides to tag along. Shortly after, they cross paths with a royal army recruiter with very specific hiring needs. Destiny — or at minimum a remarkable coincidence — has placed Kai at the beginning of his Glorious Quest.