"I'd like to offer you a choice that not many kids get." His mother's face was suddenly serious and businesslike. Something about the way she said it made John even more unnerved. "And that is...?" "Whether or not you choose to become a sorcerer." * * * On his 12th birthday, John Oak gets a weird birthday gift from his mother: a chance to become a sorcerer. He starts his training, and after a few years, graduates-but the unthinkable happens: his mother is kidnapped on the day of his finishing ceremony. In a desperate move to get her back, he steals the legendary Medallion of Achilles-but when he meets his mother's kidnapper, things get a lot more complicated.