Thomas has lived all his life in the town of Sheetrock, under the shadow of Sheetrock Mountain. The Dragonkeepers govern and protect the town with their loyal dragons-although no one has seen the creatures themselves for quite a while now. When Thomas is chosen to be one of three Students of the Dragonkeepers, along with his best friend, Billy, and a strange girl named Zenna, he ventures into the Keep of the Dragonkeepers, with the hopes of becoming an Apprentice. But as he explores dusty chambers and hidden staircases, not everything is as it once seemed.