Sometimes the world can seem boring, harsh and hostile, especially to a teenager. This is certainly what it feels like for the American boy Ben, as he tries to get used to living in a foreign country after his parents' divorce, when he never wanted to leave his home in the first place. He doesn't like Budapest, and his new classmates are none too friendly either. He's happiest retreating into his own little world with his cherished films about the Middle Ages to keep him company, daydreaming about his life as a knight in some parallel universe... Then something happens to make Ben's wish come true - only not quite in the way he imagined. From one moment to the next, he finds himself transported to a strange, unfamiliar place with the talkative, inquisitive Maya, a girl from his new class at school. They have no idea how and why they got there, or what to make of this unpredictable, magical land. Then there is the mystery of the mysterious paintbrush that Ben found before their unusual journey, and what it has to do with the strange events that unfold. One thing is certain: they have to get to the bottom of the mysteries if they want to get home, but the adventures that await them turn out to be beyond their wildest imaginings.