The year is 1646. In a land made desolate by war and disease, Krabat, a fourteen-year-old orphan, is struggling to survive. One night, he hears a strange voice in a dream. Following its instructions, he leaves the shack where he has temporarily taken shelter and makes his way to a mysterious mill. There, the miller offers him room and board if he agrees to become an apprentice. Welcoming the relief from cold and hunger, Krabat enthusiastically accepts. Working alongside the eleven other young men who live at the mill, Krabat begins to suspect that they are withholding a mysterious secret...