As a serf, Randal leads a miserable existence in the Norman castle of the Lord of Arundel. One day, the Lord decides to wager Randal in a game of chess. He loses the match, and thus Randal ends up with Herluin, a traveling singer. Herluin sends the boy to be trained by Sir d'Agullion. Together with Bevis, the knight's grandson, Randal grows up on the estate of Dean, unaware of the adventures that await him.