The action of the book takes place in London in 1547, when his father suffering from beatings poor boy named Tom Canty gets in the royal palace and changed clothes with a surprisingly like him Prince Edward. During the whole of the book Edward, being on the street, he learns the powerlessness of the lower strata of English society. He watches the brutal executions of women, he goes to prison and subjected comic coronation thieves. He vows to become king, to correct the situation and to govern their subjects graciously and generously. Meanwhile, the rest of the palace courtiers Tom tries to master rituals and manners. His ignorance regarding the basics of etiquette account for the fact that he lost his memory and may even go mad. At a crucial moment, when Tom should inherit the throne after the death of Henry VIII of, at the court of Edward and appears to confirm his rights to the crown indicates the location of the lost kingdom of the Great Print (Tom unknowingly stabbed her nuts). He becomes king, and Tom gets in his suite.