At what point did entrusting Israel's fate to a fifteen-year-old shepherd sound like a good idea?Niklas, the eighth son of Jesse, hates sheep, making his life as a shepherd the definition of miserable. So when Alvaro, his country's last and final seer, anoints Niklas to be Israel's protector against the barbarian Philistines, he's thrilled. Yet his dreams morph into nightmares after hearing his first assignment. "Root out the traitor hiding in our nation," Alvaro warns Niklas, "or watch your family and hometown burn." How can he hope to survive the already impossible task when lions, the Mad King, and a literal giant stand in his way?