Written in 1981, MAGIC MEN is the first installment of the series of Magic Men books. Set in a world steeped in folklore of a legendary race of men able to do Magic and take the soul of another, the Hill Legend are rhymes lowlanders recite in part to their children at bedtime and are the basis of fabricated tales to further enthrall their listeners. After an abandoned newborn, as is described in the rhymes is found on a Landmaster's landholdings, the Winter thaw gives up the dead highlander mother. When it's discovered that her child is in Lord Ryechim's care, his influence and wealth amount to nothing when it comes to the fear and hatred directed at the highlander babe. Declared as his son and heir, as Stev reaches the age of maturity, Lord Ryechim realizes what is meant by references to the "Magic" in the Hill Legend. It is the Magic of Imagination, in that one such as the young Lord can use his mind to imagine the past, present, and future events of another and know the alternatives...excluding his own. To find his son's true identity and the reason for the abandonment, they leave the lowlands in search of the legendary highlands, the home of the Magic Men.