On his sixteenth birthday, Lief, the son of a blacksmith, faces the greatest challenge of his life. He must venture into the darkest and most terrible places in all of Deltora to find the seven magical gems stolen from the Belt of Deltora. When reunited in the Belt, these gems?an amethyst, a topaz, a diamond, a ruby, an opal, a lapis lazuli and an emerald?will empower the heir to the throne of Deltora and free the people from the evil tyranny of the Shadow Lord.