In 1592, twelve-year-old Isabel dreams of adventure and finds it, not only on her journey from her London home to her aunt's manor house in Northamptonshire, but also through the healing arts her aunt teaches her.
Prudence, just perfect at everything, is cast in every single role of the school play, and things are of course going perfectly until she discovers she has made one big mistake.
Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.
Wiglaf faces the double embarrassment of having his wacky parents visit Dragon Slayers' Academy on Parents Day and starring in the school play as the brave but small knight, Sir Tinybottom.