First Steps for a Hero

David Eldwick is a farmer’s son, living in the north country of England in 1969. He has finished high school and will enter agricultural college in the Autumn. Martin Horner, who lives on the farm next door, is jealous of David and has made his life at school as unpleasant as possible. Although David resists Martin’s bullying, he is a peaceable young man and avoids fighting with his tormentor.
Martin and his father intend to seize ownership of the Eldwick land by forcing David’s sister into a future marriage with Martin. David warns Martin off, but Martin wants Jenevieve and goes ahead with his plans.
David has no idea how to handle Martin, but a stranger comes to work on the Eldwick farm and things begin to change. The stranger, known as the Captain, comes from Arrath, an Earth-like world, existing in a parallel universe. He teaches David how to defend himself against Martin, and David begins to develop in skill and character.
The young man grows to like and admire the captain. He discovers that people from Arrath have been visiting Earth for a long time and he becomes curious about the other world.
Martin decides to force David into a confrontation, and at the end-of-summer ball, he kidnaps Jenevieve. Knowing that he will have to fight, David goes to rescue his sister. He faces a hired thug, defeats Martin, and the captain invites him to visit Arrath.
The captain warns David that malevolent creatures from yet another parallel universe may have found their way onto Earth, intending to infect it with evil, and he tells him that on Arrath, David can begin the training which will turn him into a warder, a skilled and heroic guardian against the darkness.
Together with other people from Arrath, David is about to enter the parallel universe, but before he makes the crossing, he detects the entry into Earth of other beings. His Arrathan companions discover that the intruders are the evil creatures which threaten both worlds.
Because the presence of Arrathan humans on Earth should not be revealed, David volunteers to draw the enemies away so that his companions can return to their world undetected. He will be able to join them later.
Alone and pursued, he meets the greatest danger of his life, but he must face his fear and protect both Arrath and Earth.
What will be David’s path into his future? Does he truly believe that the other universe exists and that it can affect the lives of people who live on Earth? Will he become a farmer or a warder of Arrath?