When Kelvin was a boy, his mother read to him from the Book of Prophecy. Now the Kingdom of Rud languishes under the heel of a usurper, and the words of the prophet echo across Rud. Kelvin decides to go hunting for treasure ... specifically the scales made of gold from, what else, a golden dragon. According to Piers, this title was never published in hardbound form by itself although it appears in hardbound in two omnibus reprints First book in the The Adventures of Kelvin of Rud (series).