** spoiler alert ** Lots of action and fighting. Interesting plot and characters.
Alanna disguises herself as a boy, and trades places with her twin Thom to become a knight. At the palace, she makes an enemy, Ralon. Her friend George, the King of Theives, and her mentor Coram teach her about fighting, and Squire Ralon leaves court. Doing this, Alanna makes friends with some of the older pages, Gary, Raoul, Alex, Francis, and Prince Jonathan. She also befriends a knight named Myles. The Sweating Sickness spreads through the city, and Alanna had to use her dreaded Healing Gift to save the prince's life. Then, Duke ROgers, a powerful sorcerer and Jon's cousin comes to the palace, and he and Alanna, or "Alan" dislike each other immediately. She, a page, goes on a trip with her squire friends to Persopolis, and Duke Roger warns them about the nearby Black City, and the Ysandir. He enchants them, and so Jon and Alanna go into the Black City and eventually defeat the Ysandir, but in the process he finds out her true identity. He doesn't care, and keeps it a secret when they go back.