Three hundred years ago, an alien race saw extinction looming on their horizon and seeded several different worlds with their DNA. In an artificial dimension near Earth, they created a half-human race known as the KImsavi tribe. They instructed their hybrid children to live close to nature, while on the other side of that same world, an evil empress named Belall created her own version of a utopian society for her witches. Eighteen-year old Danny Heller has grown up in Belall City as a member of the "unfortunate gender". Being a non-magical male in a world of male-hating witches has not been easy. Danny lives on the streets, dodging Peacekeepers and making a living the only way he knows how, by selling his affections to any witch who is willing to pay his price.

When Danny is accused of murdering an ancient coven crone, he flees into the Kimsavi's wilderness, hoping to reunite with his father, the leader of the Fire Clan. But there, he's met with a father who seems capable of no emotion except a coldness that borders on hatred. The only bright spot is that his older half brother, Elu, a highly magical "dragon warrior", takes a liking to him. Elu believes that Danny was born magical but that the witches did something to divest him of it.

He comes to trust Danny and confides in him that he's having a forbidden love affair with Ayana, a shaman from an estranged clan. Ayana might be able to reverse Danny's non-magical condition, and Danny is certainly willing to let her try. Becoming magical would be the start of a brand-new life for him. He wonders - if he were magical, would that earn him his father's love? Would it help him to become a respected member in the Fire Clan village? Or is he doomed to remain non-magical and forever branded as the Witch Boy?