Wenceslaus the clumsy apprentice despairs of ever mastering smith-magic. His teacher, wicked Black Kaspar, mocks him, but Kaspar’s lonely young wife Kalyna breaks into a smile full of dimples whenever Wenceslaus is about. None of them know that their mountain harbours a dragonâ€"or that the gold wire and nuggets of its tears will bring a magic wild enough to rip their lives apart ...