Justin (Freddie Highmore) lives in the kingdom of Gabylonia, where lawyers control everything and knights have been ousted. His dream has been to become one of the Knights of Valour, like his grandfather, Sir Roland. But his father Reginald (Alfred Molina), a widower and the chief counsel to the Queen (Olivia Williams), wants his son to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. After an argument with his father, Justin seeks comfort from his grandmother (Julie Walters), a friend of the Queen, who encourages him to follow his dreams. Justin notices that his grandfather's sword is missing and decides to find the sword as his knights quest. His grandmother gives him a key which originally belonged to his grandfather and tells him to go to an abbey where three wise monks would train him. Before Justin leaves on his quest, he visits his crush Lara (Tamsin Egerton) who is a spoilt brat and the daughter of the kingdom's greatest businessman. He says farewell to her, though she is not really listening and rather uncaringly gives him a sock as a token.