Simon's young body is crippled with arthritis and he can see little hope of living a normal active life. That is until the day he has a chance encounter with, Rory of the fields. Rory is part of a band of misplaced Irish fairies that for many years have managed to remain hidden from the rest of mankind, concealed in their fortress far back in the misty hills of New Zealand's Coromandal mountain range. The fairies have been too long and too far from the source of their magic and doubt that they can help Simon but agree to try so long as Simon completes a list of tasks that the fairies set for him. First Simon must help someone with greater needs than his own, but who? His mother? No, her needs are too closely related to his own, that would not be accepted by the Fairies. But who? Simon finds the answer in the form of Shannon. The young girl who catches the school bus at the same bus stop as Simon. Together they set out to end the chaos that has become Shannan's life.