Josh has the ability to do magic. He and his sister Maddy save the Nexus Ring from two greedy magical creatures-Aleena the water spirit, and Gronvald the cruel troll-who want to use the ring to cross the veil. Now, on a family camping trip, Josh and Maddy steal away to visit the giant of Castle Mountain, Keeper of the ring. But Josh drops the ring, and Aleena finds it. Josh and Maddy have to follow Aleena to get it back. As they travel all the way to Vancouver Island they are followed by Corvus, the magical leader of the crows.
Then, Josh and the others are swallowed by an ancient cedar deep in the rainforest, and literally escape into the earth. But when the earth won't let them go, Josh must learn to "become earth," and use earth magic to help Aleena and Maddy return to the surface.
Finally, Josh, Maddy and Aleena return the ring to Keeper. The crows flock to Josh, recognizing the deep magic he's learned from the natural world. He has become Crow Boy, "the magic boy."
